A Tale of Two Slaves Part 2: Survival
by empressmargaretta
Summary: Young Shark has adapted to field life, and few people doubt he is anything other than what he claims to be, but in truth he has many secrets to hide, secrets that could put him in serious danger. His sisters, Rio and Iris, are in Arclight, slaves to the royal family. Though their position seems secure, there are threats around every corner, if their true identities are discovered.
1. Prologue

Lanu blinked in the harsh sunlight as she and almost fifty other young women and girls were herded outside for the first time in almost three full moons. The last time any of them had been outside was when they'd first been brought here to Astrania. Like Lanu, the entire group had once lived peacefully in the United Lands of the Pacific Ocean. The captive women came from all five islands that made up the United Lands, that had until recently been ruled by the benevolent Emperor Ralphenom and his wife, Empress Toria.

The United Lands was one nation among six that made up the Barian Empire. Astrania was another such nation, allied with the other kingdoms through the Treaty of the Seven Barian Emperors. Emperor Ralphenom had been the leader of this Imperial Council, and he had been well-liked and respected by everyone. Everyone, that is, except for Emperor Domitian of Astrania. No one knew the exact reasons, but almost exactly one rainy and one dry season ago, he had attacked the United Lands, killing Emperor Ralphenom and Empress Tori, as well as their three children, Crown Prince Nash and his sisters, Princesses Marin and Iris.

Domitian had laid waste to the United Lands, draining them of their resources and leaving the people penniless. Lanu's husband had been one of the brave few who had refused to pay Domitian's outrageous taxes. He had paid for his defiance with his life.

Lanu and her nine-year old sister, Marya, had been taken captive by the soldiers who had slaughtered him and kept in a pen near the docks of their island, Vairz. After many moon cycles, they had been herded onto a ship and taken to Saleek, the largest island of the five in the United Lands, where Emperor Ralphenom's palace was, now inhabited by his enemy's army. There, Lanu's group had joined captives from the other four islands in the dungeons to await their fate.

Then, in the middle of the cold season, all of them had been transported by ship here to Astrania. It had been less than a moon after Domitian's personal slave, a boy by the name of Shark, had spent the night in Lanu's cell, awaiting execution in the morning. He was the same age as her sister, and Lanu hoped his death had been quick and painless.

Ever since coming to Astrania, the captives had been kept inside, but treated better than they had been since their trial had begun. They had been fed well, given bathes and new clothes, as well as servants to attend to their hair. Recently, the women had been forced to undergo beauty treatments. This had confirmed Lanu's fears about why so many young, beautiful women had been brought to Domitian's palace- he wanted them for his harem.

She had been careful not to mention her suspicions to anyone, especially not Marya. Marya was too young for any beauty treatments, and for the most part, she had been ignored, much to Lanu's relief. Now, however, all of them, including Marya, were being taken outside to the soldiers' training ground. Lanu tried to quell the rising panic in her breast. The women were all uneasy, murmuring to each other in their native language, Salkie. None of the women spoke Astranian, and some of the poorer and uneducated ones did not even speak Barian, the general language of the Barian Empire.

Lanu looked around; trying to predict what was going to happen. Soldiers were gathered all around them, leering at the captive women, who were all wearing flattering dresses and jewelry for the occasion, whatever it was. They had been given no choice.

"The men are getting impatient, General," one of the higher ranking officers said, observing the scene.

"I know," the General said. "But we're still waiting for the dogs."

"The dogs, sir?" 

"Yes. The tracking dogs. They've been trained to just chase the women, not attack them. Get them all riled up. If the men want a piece of the feast, they're going to have to _catch_ it first."

"Ah. Very clever, General."

When the dogs were brought out, they produced the desired effect. The women screamed and scattered in all directions, the animals chasing them wherever they went. The women didn't know that the dogs hadn't been trained to kill them, they didn't know that the animals though it was all some sort of wonderful game. They screamed and ran for their lives, while the soldiers laughed at the spectacle.

Clutching Marya to her, Lanu ran towards the edge of the training ground, which was hemmed in by a wooden fence. Beyond that fence was a thick forest that separated other sections of Domitian's estate from the soldiers' area. Lanu didn't dare look behind her, but Marya did, and she saw the men begin to chase after the scattered women and girls, laughing cruelly and joking amongst themselves. One girl was tackled to the ground, and the soldier that had her ripped at her tunic while she screamed and fought in vain against him. His friends goaded him on.

"Don't look back, Marya!" Lanu cried. She was almost there, almost… One of the soldiers saw her.

"Hey, beautiful, don't run away from us. We only want to have some fun." Lanu had a head start, but he was bigger, stronger, and unhindered by a long, flowy skirt. Lanu made it to the fence and swung Marya over the side.

"Run!" she ordered, just as her pursuer came up behind her. Things seemed to happen in slow motion. Marya was just standing there, staring up at her older sister with her frightened green eyes, when Lanu was yanked backward and pressed up against a huge soldier.

"Hey, beautiful," he smirked at her, before beginning to kiss her lips, jaw and neck. He pushed her to the ground and ripped her tunic off. _Please,_ Lanu thought, _Let it be over soon…_

"Run, Marya, run!" Lanu cried, realizing that her sister was still there, watching, petrified, as the man took her sister right in front of her. The man turned his eyes on the girl, and only then did she run, the bleary gaze of Lanu's violator too much for her to bear.

"We've got a runaway!"

"Send the dogs after her!" The cry went up, and soon Marya heard them, snarling yapping dogs coming after her, their teeth snapping at her heels. She ran as fast as she could, her dress getting caught and tripping her. Not caring about the damage being done to her clothes, or the blood streaming down her arms and legs from scratches she had sustained, Marya kept running.

She was too out of breath to shriek when someone grabbed her from the side, knocking her to the ground and clapping a hand over her mouth. At first she struggled, but her captor was too strong for her and so she lay still, waiting for whatever horrible thing that had been done to her sister to be done to her, too. When she did not feel her tunic being torn off, she managed to look up to see what her captor was doing to her. She stared into the eyes of a boy not much older than herself- deep, blue eyes that could make you get lost in them. Then, to her amazement, he spoke her name.

"Marya?"

 **Next time on** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves:**_ **An explanation as to who this blue-eyed boy is and what he was doing in the middle of the forest when Marya came running towards him.**

 _ **If you would like to know more about what's going on, read**_ **A Tale of Two Slaves Part 1: Surrender.**


	2. The Secret Spring

"Alright, listen up!" Wolfsbane yelled at the slaves under his charge. Shark, who had just recently reached the age of nine, winced. Did Wolfsbane think all the slaves in Barracks 17 were deaf? Of course, after listening to him yelling at them for season after season, some of them might very well be hard of hearing. Shark, though, had only been a field slave for five moons, and his young ears chafed at the loud voice.

"Those of you going to the palace today will come with me. While I am getting them on their way, I want no dillydallying or failure to work hard. While the sun is up, the routine is no different for you than it is during any other sun cycle, and _any_ slave caught slacking off will be severely punished!"

Shark smiled secretly to himself as he moved with the majority of the slaves towards the third sugarcane field, the one that Wolfsbane was responsible for overseeing. During the daylight today, a group of slaves would be making the journey to the palace to pick up the supplies for the next coming and going of the rains. The hot rainy season had just begun, and it was always around this time that supplies ran out and were redistributed by the Emperor's slave overseers.

Only the most trusted slaves were given the opportunity to leave field work for one sun cycle to retrieve the allotted supplies, and Shark did not fall into this category, since he was, officially, a "rebellious slave." However, there would be a short period of time in which Wolfsbane would be gone- putting the chosen slaves on the road- and the other guards would not have arrived yet from their barracks. It was now that Shark and the others would make their move.

Just like a group of slaves went annually to retrieve the supplies, a group of slaves would escape the fields at the same time and go to the secret spring. The guards knew there would be a smaller number of slaves in the field that day, so they wouldn't really notice anyone was missing. Besides, they all knew that all Wolfsbane cared about was that all fifty slaves were there in the morning and in the evening. This was how Nigel, an older slave, had explained to Shark several moon cycles ago.

"Now that the rains are really coming down heavily, the secret spring will overflow and be full of fresh, clean spring water. Every time some slaves are sent to get new supplies, a group will sneak away from the fields while Wolfsbane is gone and go to the secret spring. It's in the woods that separate the slave fields from the army's training ground. We all take turns every time the opportunity rolls around. We'd like you to come along this time, Shark."

Shark hadn't had a real bath since arriving at the third sugarcane field. The slaves in Barracks 17 were given a barrel of water ton share amongst themselves that was emptied out and refilled every new moon, but in the increasing heat and humidity of the hot rainy season, the slaves used it for extra drinking water instead. Hydration was far more important during this season than cleanliness was. But to have a bath in fresh spring water! It was a luxury Shark hadn't even dreamt about since he had become a slave, the last time the hot rainy season had come.

It was relatively simple to slip away as soon as Wolfsbane's voice faded. The remaining slaves automatically shifted their positions to make the gaps less obvious, and the group of bathers silently disappeared into the thick brush.

As soon as they were far enough away not to be heard, the older slaves began to sing a fast-paced song, one that Shark recognized as "Spring Up, Oh Well."

 _I've got a river of life flowing out of me._

 _Makes the lame to walk and the blind to see,_

 _Opens prison doors, sets the captives free,_

 _I've got a river of life flowin' out o' me._

Then Shark and the other younger slaves joined in:

 _Spring up, oh well, Splish, Splash!_

 _And save my soul!_

 _Spring up, oh well, Gush, gush, gush_

 _And make me whole._

 _Spring up, oh well, Wipe Out!_

 _And give to me that life abundantly._

The slaves often sang to pass the time, but now it was different than the sad songs they sang in the fields. This time, the tune was actually happy.

The spring was even better than Shark had imagined. It was a large pool, water streaming into it from a gushing water fall. Letting out some wild whoops, the slaves stripped off their old, worn tunics and jumped in, quickly submerging themselves in the cold water. All of them were men or boys, since Barracks 17 was an all-male Barracks, and they weren't shy in front of each other. Slaves couldn't afford to be modest. Women and girls slept in Barracks 18.

All morning, they swam around, dunked each other, swung into the pool on vines, and rode the waterfall, which wasn't quite perpendicular, like a slide. It was the happiest morning Shark had known since he had given himself to slavery.

After a lunch of wild berries, the slaves got down to work. The Soahk plant grew abundantly in that area, so that was what they used for soap. Soahk was an incredibly useful plant that grew everywhere in the Barian Empire. The leaves, made a little wet, acted as bars of soap that you could scrub yourself with. The leaves were large and full of the anti-bacterial juice, so three of them could clean a full-grown man more than an entire bar of soap.

Other than soap, Soahk had many other uses. The oily nectar found in flower, when mixed with a bit of water since it had a very peculiar smell, made a good medicine for upset stomachs. Brewing the leaves and stems made a strong tea that helped with fevers, sore throats, and headaches. The roots could be cooked in many different ways to make a very sustainable meal. Boiling the flowers made a beautiful indigo dye. Also, grinding the roots into a paste and moistening it with water made a good poultice that could soothe aching muscles, revive tired nerves, and even heal cuts and bruises.

Shark had wandered a little way from the spring to collect some of these incredibly useful plants- the slaves liked to take some back with them, since the roots tastes good and they could be used to heal cuts from the whip- when he heard a sound that made his blood run cold. Dogs. Dogs barking. His heart pounding, Shark crouched in the thick brush and tried to think clearly. The dogs must be from the soldiers' training ground. It was the only other place near here. They must have picked up their scent and were coming to investigate, soldiers hot on their heels. If the slaves were discovered, away from the fields, they would be flogged, some of them maybe executed.

 _Calm down,_ Shark told himself sternly. _Maybe the dogs aren't even coming towards the spring. How could they have smelled us all the way from the training grounds?_

As the barking drew closer, however, Shark's hope faded. The dogs were definitely coming this way. How had they picked up their scents? Had the Emperor actually managed to breed a dog that was that accurate? Quickly Shark dropped to the ground and rolled around, trying to erase his scent with that of dirt and plants. The dogs continued to draw closer. Shark hid behind a fallen log, his heart racing. What if the dogs found him? They might be able to sniff out all the others, and then all would be lost. If worst came to worst, Shark decided, he would run in the opposite direction to divert the hounds from the slaves' secret.

To his confusion, Shark heard hasty footsteps and heavy breathing approaching _before_ the sound of dogs coming crashing through the brush. Could it be the dogs were not after the secret goings-on at then spring, but rather they were chasing someone who happened to be running in this direction? Whoever it was, Shark was going to make them pay for endangering them all.

He waited. The footsteps grew closer. Closer. Just a little bit more and- Shark leapt from his hiding place and tackled his quarry, clapping his hand over their mouth to stifle any screams of surprise. The person, who was smaller than he was, struggled until Shark managed to pin them down underneath him. Lying underneath him, his captive froze.

Sitting up, but keeping his enemy's arms tight in his grasp, Shark looked at the person lying under him. Staring up at him were a pair of frightened green eyes, belonging to a face that Shark could never have forgotten.

"Marya?"


	3. Tiger

Marya trembled as she looked up at her captor. Was he going to do to her what that soldier had done to Lanu? How did he know her name? The barking dogs drew closer.

Shark looked around desperately. Then he remembered the Soahk plants that surrounded them. Quickly, he grabbed one and slit open the stem, letting the foul-smelling nectar seep out. "Rub this on yourself," he ordered, opening another stem and rubbing the oil into his own skin.

Marya was baffled. "But why?"

"Just do it!"

He was agitated, and, fearing he might take out his annoyance on her, Marya hastily followed his instructions. When they were sufficiently coated in the oil, Shark yanked the open Soahk plants out of the ground and told Marya to lie down on them, to hide any sign of human presence. Then he got down next to her, rearranging the thick vegetation around them to hide them from view. He was just in time. In another moment, the dogs had bounded into view, sniffing the air hungrily.

Marya could see one of the dog's legs not that fa from her head. She tried to calm her racing heart, certain that they would be able to hear it pounding.

The dogs were confused. They had tracked their quarry to this point, but now the scent had disappeared. They wandered about, noses in the air, trying to pick it up again. Some of the dogs came very close to the children's' hiding place, but they didn't find it. It didn't take long for the soldiers that had been following the dogs to catch up. Shark held his breath. The soldiers would not rely on their noses to find them. Had he covered them up well enough?

"The dogs have lost the scent."

"I can see that. Where do you think she disappeared to?"

"How should I know? Come on, we're missing all the fun. We'll probably find her body all stiff and shriveled in a moon change or two."

"Yeah. Come on, boys, time to go back." Only when the sound of dogs and men had faded did Shark and Marya begin to breathe again.

"Alright," Shark demanded, "What are you doing here? Why were those men chasing you?" Stumbling over her words, Marya told her story. When she got to the part about what had been done to Lanu, she couldn't stop the tears that flowed down her cheeks.

"I-I just d-don't know wh-what I'm g-go-going to d-do," she sobbed. Shark was stunned into silence. They had raped Lanu? They had captured a whole group of young women, women from _his_ kingdom and…and done _that_ to them? He was furious, shocked, and grieved all at the same time.

"I'm sorry," he said finally. What else could he say?

"I-I want to g-go back to my sister," Marya said hoarsely.

"You can't," Shark sighed wearily. "You'll have to come back with me. I'll hide you."

"But why? How did you know my name? Why are you risking your own safety to help me?" Marya hadn't seen much kindness since being captured. Even some of the other women had been bitter and hateful. The only person she had trusted was her sister. Why should she trust his boy?

Shark thought for a moment, trying to decide how best to answer her question. At last he said, "Because once, your sister did the same for me."

The other slaves were, naturally, surprised when Shark came back not only with Soahk plants, but also with a girl his own age. He didn't answer the many questions that he was pelted with- "What took you so long?" "Where'd you find her?" "Who is she?"- But rather simply announced that his new friend would be staying with them for a while, and that he would be taking care of her.

Since both of them still smelled strange, they stripped off their tunics and plunged into the spring, one at a time. When it was Marya's turn, all the male slaves gave her courtesy and turned their backs. When she was dry again, Shark handed her his gray shirt and told her to put it on.

"What about my own clothes?"

"You can't wear them. It will give you away. The shirt is warm enough at night and will cover you during the day." He was right. Marya was smaller enough than Shark so that his shirt was like a short dress on her, reaching almost to her knees.

"What will you wear?" she asked him.

"My trousers. What else?"

There was one other thing Shark insisted on- Marya's hair had to be cut. Her lavender hair fell all the way down her back, and though she was only nine and not that tall, it was _a lot_ of hair. "I like my hair!" Marya protested, covering her head with her hands.

"You won't like it a couple of suns from now," Shark countered. "It'll get in your way, make you hotter, and it will give the guards something to grab you with. Besides, you'll never pass as a boy with long hair."

"A boy?" Shark's fellow slaves were stunned. "Shark, can't she just live in Barracks 18 with the other women and girls?"

"No."

"But why-"

"Because I promised to protect her! I will keep her by my side and watch over her at all times. I can't do that if she's in the women's barracks." There were murmurs of confusion from the group. Why was Shark being so stubborn at this? They tried to reason with him, but he wouldn't budge.

It was not just because he felt like he owed Lanu something that Shark was so determined to keep Marya under his wing. It was older brother instinct. He had a sister Marya's age- a twin sister that he could no longer protect. But he could protect Marya, and nothing was going to stop him from doing so. Finally, his companions gave up arguing with him and one of them who was quite deft with his cane knife gave Marya the desired haircut.

It hurt, both because she was losing her hair and because it was being cut with a knife. It felt more like it was being pulled out, not cut off. However, Marya refused to cry. She had cried enough for one sun cycle. When it was finished, Marya looked at her reflection in the spring and was surprised to see that the hair cut wasn't all that bad, and it did make her look like a boy. They let her keep her hair clips, which had pulled two sections of her hair forward from the rest, because they had been a present from her sister. However, they warned her that the guards would take things that looked valuable, and that she would have to be careful to hide them.

The sun was getting low in the sky now, and it was time to head back to the fields. There was no singing on the return trip. No one felt like singing. It was always nerve racking, returning to the fields without being noticed, and this time they had something else to hide besides the bundles of Soahk root hidden in their clothing.

Luckily, sneaking back into the fields went off without a hitch, thanks to a diversion caused by two of the other slaves who pretended to get into a fight. It was evening roll call, though, that everyone was worried about. They all knew that Wolfsbane's one rule was that fifty slaves had to be there in the morning and fifty had to be there at night. Tonight there would be 51. Shark was the only one who didn't seem worried.

Roll call came quickly, since the slaves had come back at the end of the sun cycle. They stood in line to be counted, everyone who had gone to the secret spring that day nervous about what Wolfsbane was going to do when he realized he was one over.

"48, 49, 50…51. What is the meaning of this? There are fifty slaves when I leave, and now there are 51! Well? Which one of you is responsible for this?"

"Sir, request permission to speak," Shark said.

"I already said- speak, Shark." Wolfsbane growled at him.

"There isn't really any problem, sir. You're one slave over. Well, Tiger and I each make up about half of a full-grown slave. So, really, you had 49½ before, and now you have fifty. I wouldn't make a big deal out of it, if I was you. Some of the other overseers might get the wrong idea if you started complaining about having _extra_ slaves."

"Shark, you- never mind. _Tiger_ here, wherever he came from, can stay as long as he's helping you to get more work done."

"Yes sir!" Shark saluted.

"Humph," Wolfsbane said. "Get them inside the Barracks!" he yelled at the guards. Then he turned on his heel and stalked off. _If I hadn't been specifically ordered not to, Shark, I would have you flogged for your insolence!_

 **Next time on** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves:**_ **Shark's friend Dumon struggles to survive as his life is torn to pieces.**


	4. The Second Invasion

_He's dead, Dumon. Your father died in service to his country. You should be proud._ Proud. Being proud was not going to bring Stalminus back. Dumon didn't care about the knight's code, serving the King- who was dead anyway- or being _proud_ anymore. He missed his father. He wanted the dignified man who had taught him everything he knew to come back and hold him and _comfort_ him and tell him that it was all going to be okay.

But things would never be okay again. He knew that now. Nash and Marin were gone. His father was gone. Mach was the only reason Dumon kept pushing forward. Without his Pegasus companion, he would have been completely alone on the world.

Dumon was sleeping in Mach's stall that night, as he had done every night since word had come that his father had been captured by the enemy during the attempt to take Saleek back from Astrania. There had been no confirmation of Stalminus's death until a refugee from the island- there was still a small trickle of escapees who managed to make it- announced that his headless body had been hung up by the feet for all to see, just as Ralphenom's and Toria's bodies had been. Dumon had taken the news silently, managing to make it to Mach's stall before the tears came.

Now he was curled up underneath one of Mach's large white wings, fast asleep. He had received the news just after lunch, and now it was past dinner and the sun was sinking in the sky, painting it in rich, warm colors. Mach could see this because the stables' door was open; the stable boys had left it that way because it was a warm, dry day. Now that it was the rainy season, such days were rare. It had rained two suns ago, and the air smelled deliciously fresh. It was on a day like today that Mach had first decided to adopt Dumon. He wished the boy was as happy now as he had been then. Pegasuses knew little of connections between parents and children after the first passing of the rains in life. Mach barely remembered his mother; he had never known his father. But he knew all about Dumon's suffering; he could understand human language even if he couldn't speak it.

That night, Mach was restless. The freshness of the air was gone; there was something hostile and frightening in it now. He nudged Dumon awake in his agitation, trying to tell him that something was wrong.

"Huh? What is it Mach?" Dumon asked groggily, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. Mach whinnied in fear, looking around nervously. Dumon studied his last living friend and family in the moonlight. Mach was nervous about something, but what? He decided to go out on patrol and look for anything unusual; he had learned from an early age that sometimes animals could sense things before they actually happened. Dumon saddled Mach, gathered some bread, cheese, and water, and led Mach out into the stable yard so they could have clear space for take-off. It was then that the invasion alarm was sounded.

Dumon knew he was not old enough for battle. He also knew he should do something to help his king. But, in his heart of hearts, he knew it was Domitian, and though he knew it was a coward's move, he ducked back inside the barn, hid in Mach's stall, and waited for the battle to be over, clinging to the faint hope that somehow his King would pull off a victory.

The sounds of soldiers coming to the barn almost caused his heart to stop. What would the Astranians be doing in the stables?

"What are our orders?"

"Take anything of value. Then burn this place to the ground. We don't any of these freaks of nature coming after us in the future." There was nothing Dumon could do as the place was ransacked, the best saddles and bridles being removed and loaded onto a wagon. The Pegasuses and the horses knew that theses strange men did not belong here. They whinnied for their masters, stomped their hooves in agitation, and some of them even reared up as far as they could when one the invaders came too close. Dumon longed to comfort them, but he didn't dare move.

Then came the fire. It started as a strange sound- a crackling, roaring noise that grew louder with each passing moment. Panicked, Dumon jumped up and grasped Mach's reins.

"Come on, boy. We've got to get out of here!" Mach neighed in terror and refused to move. He wanted to trust Dumon, but he didn't dare venture out towards that strange sound. Desperate, Dumon tied a blindfold around the Pegasus's eyes, giving him no choice but to follow him. Once Mach was out, he pulled the blindfold off and ran back inside to bring out another terrified animal.

It would haunt him for the rest of his life- the suffocating smoke, the heat rapidly more intense, the terrified screams of horses, the smell of the burning flesh of those he could not save.

"Go!" Dumon yelled at the ones he had saved. "There's nothing left for you here! Go! Run away! Get away from all of this!" In a flutter of wings and the pounding of hooves, the animals fled, all of them heading in the same direction- west. Only Mach remained, looking at Dumon expectedly.

Not knowing what else to do, Dumon headed to the house where the Knight apprentices slept. He would always wish he hadn't. He had heard that Domitian was ruthless, crazy, insane- but only the sight of a dozen boys that had been run through was enough to make Domitian's character clear to him. Blood was everywhere; the air was thick with the smell of it. There was one boy, who had been stabbed in the stomach who was still alive.

"Dumon! It was Domitian! He was looking for you- Stalminus's son. We didn't tell him, so he said 'I guess I'll have to kill all of you to make sure.' But he failed Dumon. You're still alive. I'm glad." As the boy, only 13, spoke, blood trickled out of his mouth. "Promise me, Dumon," he begged, "Promise me that you'll survive."

"I promise," Dumon said, two tears trickling down his face.

"Good. Now, please…finish it. You know that the most agonizing way to die is from a bleeding stomach wound." Dumon tried to refuse the request, but the boy was so obviously in pain that he eventually took the small dagger out of his clothes and slit his throat. It was the first time he had killed. He didn't even know the name of his victim.

He fled the palace, leaving the sound of dying horses and people screaming in horror behind. The smell of blood haunted him as he mounted Mach and took off, not even being thankful that he had, ironically, already prepared himself for a journey. He wept as he clung to Mach's silky mane, remembering all the refuges still hidden in the palace. They had escaped right into the lions' den.

He survived for 14 suns by begging for food and sleeping in caves or in trees. Mach would cover him with his wings when it was cold or when it rained- which it did frequently. Dumon decided to head towards the Tachyon Mountains. It was the only place Domitian wouldn't dare to try to conquer. The great Galaxy-Eyes would hopefully deter him. Domitian would conquer everyone else, though, Dumon knew. He would bring the Barian Empire under his thumb with fire and blood- there would be nothing left.

 **Next time on** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves:**_ **Rio has a conversation with Crown Prince Christopher and learns more about what is going on in the Heartland Empire.**


	5. Astronomy

Rio Kastle stared up at the rows and rows of books in the royal Arclight library. She had never seen so many gathered in one place. Of course, the royal palace in the royal palace of the United Lands had an ever-growing library, but it was still a bit smaller than this. This Library was nothing like that one, though. It had furniture- desks and chairs- and it was stuffy. So stuffy Rio felt as though she couldn't breathe. Of course that's how she had felt ever since arriving here. Unlike the palace she had grown up in, there was never any fresh air allowed in the Arclight's palace.

Fanning herself with her hand, Rio crossed the room and pulled open the floor-length curtains that covered one of the windows in the rom. A cloud of dust rose up and she coughed. As with all of the windows, this one was locked, though it allowed a lot of light to flood in. She went around and did the same with the other curtains, finding all of the windows locked, except for one. The one window that was open, Rio discovered, wasn't a window at all. It was a door that led out onto a large balcony. Relieved, Rio stepped out on it and breathed in some fresh air.

It was unbearably hot, now that it was the month that the Arclightians called July. Of course, it wouldn't have been nearly as bad if she hadn't been wearing all the layers that were considered proper attire for girls. There were fewer layers now than there had been during the fall and winter months, when she had first arrived here, but it made very little difference to the Barian Princess. She was still hot. However, it was worth the heat to get a breath of fresh air.

She was about to go back inside when she noticed something, covered with a cloth, standing off to the side. Curious, she walked over and, after only a moment of hesitation, pulled the cloth off of the strange device. It was a tube, narrow at one end and wide at the other, mounted on a three-legged stand. Rio studied it, puzzled. She had never seen anything like it in her life. If she had been at home, she would have taken it apart, examined it thoroughly, put it back together, and wouldn't have given up until she had figured out what it was. However, here Rio was a slave girl, and slaves did not have the right to touch whatever they wanted to.

Sighing, she covered it up again and returned to the library and the job she had been assigned- to dust it. The Library had more dust than any other room she had ever seen. Didn't these people ever use it? She tried to read some of the books as she dusted them, but they were all in Heartlandish or Arclightian, languages she couldn't read or write. She could speak Heartlandish well enough to communicate, but that was it.

The Library was huge, and dusting it took most of the afternoon. By the time she was finished, Rio's feet and back ached, and her nose felt funny. "I'm so tired," she said, holding back a yawn. She flopped down in one of the huge, over-stuffed armchairs and curled up to rest. "Just a little rest," she told herself. "I'll just have…a little…rest…"

The next thing she was aware of was someone shaking her awake. "Miss Kastle. Wake up, Miss Kastle." She stirred and opened her eyes, suddenly aware of how stiff she felt. She sat up and looked at the source of the voice- Crown Prince Christopher.

"Oh, your highness, I'm sorry," Rio said, slipping off the chair a little too quickly and nearly losing her balance. "I was- I mean, I was trying to-" She fumbled over her words, trying to find the feather duster that had clattered to the floor.

"You don't have to explain," King Byron's eldest son said. "I was just wondering if you were the one who had left the door to the balcony open."

"Oh…yes. I guess that's why it's so cold in here," she said, hugging herself. It was an annoying truth that, while summer Arclightian days were unbearably hot, summer Arclightian nights were very chilly. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." Rio studied the young man in front of her. He was fifteen now, having had his birthday in the month of January, the first month of the Heartlandish year. His silver braid hung over his left shoulder, as usual. His blue eyes, a colder shade than her twin's were, were often indifferent, but she could see the kindness in them nonetheless. She decided to act on impulse.

"Your highness, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course," he said, not pointing out, as his brother Quattro would have that she had technically already asked him one.

"I was on the balcony this afternoon, and I noticed this," she said, leading him to the strange tube on the stand.

"This? This is a telescope."

"Tell scope?"

"Telescope. We use it to look at the stars."

Ro looked up at the sky. "I can see the stars just fine."

"Well, yes, you can _see_ them, but with the telescope you can see them up close. Here, I'll show you." Prince Christopher looked through the telescope and adjusted it several times before stepping back and gesturing Rio forward. "Look through it. What do you see?"

"I… see a great big ball of fire. Like the sun."

"That's a star. The sun is actually a star, a very large and very bright one. We can't look at the sun directly, with our bare eyes or with a telescope, because we could go blind. Some astronomers think there are other suns in the universe, with other planets that circle around them. Some even think that there are stars much bigger and much brighter than our sun, stars so far away that even the best telescopes can't get a really good look at them."

"You seem to know a lot about astronomy," Rio said, straightening up and turning to face him.

"It is sort of a hobby of mine," the Prince admitted. "Do you have astronomers in Baria?"

"Oh yes. But their jobs are somewhat… different. My people believe that stars can foretell events. For instance, one astronomer saw the aligning of the Crystal Zero and Abyss Splash constellations as a sign that- that the royal children would be twins." She held her breath and hoped that he wouldn't question her fumbling.

"Really?"

Rio could see that he was about to ask more, so she spoke quickly, "Yes. Please, your highness, tell me more about your astronomy. For instance, I have heard that your calendar is astronomical."

"Oh, yes. Our year is the time it takes for the earth to make one complete cycle around the sun. We can tell when one year has passed because we have gone from one vernal equinox to the next. The vernal equinox is when the sun is exactly lined up with the earth's equator- that is; its middle line."

"I see. So, our times are similar, but we measure them different ways."

"Exactly. You have twelve moons in your rains, which are made up of four seasons, and we have one year with four seasons and twelve months. We just measure out months differently, so that they are not all exactly lined up with your moons- approximately. I have always wanted to ask you about that. There aren't exactly twelve moons in any consistent length of time. How do you account for that?"

Rio thought about it for a moment. "Some moons overlap," she said finally. "For instance, the last moon of the 385th rain was also the first moon of the 386th rain."

"Is that the rain you're in now?"

Rio nodded. "How do you get all your months to fit into your year?"

"Well, we know that a solar year consists of 365.242 days. So, we divided them as equally as we could into twelve months, because that's the number of new moons in one year. However, over time, days got added and subtracted because it pleased rulers to do so. Then, every four years, those extra 0.242 days that got subtracted from the year to make the number of days whole get added up into an extra day that gets given to February because it has the fewest number of days to begin with."

"That's confusing," Rio said.

Prince Christopher laughed. "Now, Miss Kastle," he said, "I have a question for you. The other day, my brother called me an interesting name: _Quinton._ Now, I know that it isn't from any language around here. Would you happen to know what it means?"

"Oh. Um, yes, actually." Rio explained to him about how she had helped Quattro come up with a name for him in Barian, and about how it meant 'typical older brother,' with a negative context. "I'm really, really, sorry." She said.

"Sorry? I think it's amazing that your people have such accurate descriptions implied by one sort word. Our language doesn't work that way. It's just-" he hesitated. "I know you've grown comfortable with calling my brothers Quattro and Trey. But, I'm going to have to tell you not to do that when our guests arrive."

"Guests? What guests?"

Prince Christopher sighed. "The royal families from Tsukamo and Tenjo."

 _Tenjo._ The barbarians who had attacked her home. "You don't seem very happy about it."

"I'm not. They're coming for the entire month of August, and during that time, I'm supposed to get to know Emperor Kazuma's daughter, Princess Kari." Seeing her puzzled look, he continued, "In two years, we'll be 17 and 16- marriageable age. Everyone is hoping that we'll fall in love and marry so that our two Kingdoms can unite. Our fathers are friends, but they don't want war to break out on Tsukamo because their kingdom is going to be ruled by a single woman. They think it will help stabilize the Empire if I marry her and go to Tsukamo as the royal consort while Thomas stays here and rules as King."

Rio tried to imagine Quattro as a King and almost laughed. "They don't trust the Princess to rule her own Kingdom?"

"Not exactly. It's more… people have a tendency to think of a single female ruler as weak. Besides," he gave a long sigh, "Several of my father's advisors have hinted that, after he's gone, my younger brother will take matters into his own hands and try to claim the throne for himself."

Rio could see why they would think that. Quattro was headstrong and could be very…demanding. She knew that some of her own father's advisors had been nervous about her and Nash beginning a war over who had the right to the throne, because they were twins. However, Rio did not want the responsibility of running a kingdom. She would leave that to her brother.

Nash. Oh, she missed him. She played with the ring on her finger and remembered his last words to her. _I will never leave your side._

"I-" Rio interrupted herself with a yawn. "I'm sorry," she said, reaching up to rub her eyes, more so to hide her tears than anything else.

"You're tired. You should go to bed."

"Thank you," she said, yawning again.

She went back down to the female servants' quarters and slipped inside. Iris, her younger sister, was already in bed, fast asleep. As Rio curled up on her cot, she scolded herself. _You're getting too comfortable here. You've got to escape. Nash needs you._

 **Next time on** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves:**_ **Marya wonders just who exactly her young protector is after several interesting incidents.**


	6. A Momentous Day

"What will happen to them?" Marya asked, watching as a long line of slaves, shackled together, was led away by a group of royal soldiers.

"Keep your eyes on your work, Tiger," Shark murmured, hacking at a stubborn weed that had grown up around one of the sugarcane stalks in his section. "I don't know what will happen to them." They would probably be sold or executed for the Emperor's pleasure, but Shark wasn't going to tell Marya that.

Marya, or Tiger as she was now known, struggled with field life. She was almost always exhausted, and the heat and rain didn't help matters. Shark was glad he had first started field work during the cold season. He tried to do most of the work for her and made sure that no guards ever thought that she was slacking off. He was also wary of the changes that would be occurring soon, changes that would mark Tiger as a girl. But, as the slaves so often liked to remind each other, _we will talk about it when we have to talk about it._

Speaking of changes, there seemed to be no end to them in the third sugarcane field. One strange occurrence were the new line-ups, in which slaves were inspected, poked and prodded, and then, for no apparent reason, about half of them-so far- were put in chains and hauled off. Shark forced himself not to worry about them. He only hoped that this didn't mean they expected twice the amount of work out of those who remained.

As if that weren't enough, the rains had washed away some of the supporters for Barracks 17, so some slaves had been given the task of bringing in new, heavy blocks of granite to replace them. Granite supports were "the new thing" as Weasel, Shark's soldier friend, had told him.

He raised his arm and drew it across his forehead to wipe away the sweat. Shark's plot was in the center of the field, where everything was blocked off by the tall cane plants that grew all around them. None of these stalks provided any shade when the sun was high overhead, though, and he was so _thirsty._ He licked his lips and focused his attention back on his work, trying not to think about his parched throat. He hoped Weasel would hurry up.

Shark couldn't see a thing since he was surrounded by plants taller than he was, but he could hear just fine, and the crack of a whip and a pained cry did not escape him. At first he thought it was just the routine flick of a lash on the back of a slave who had been unlucky enough to be caught stopping for a moment to stretch. However, this time, the cracks and the screams of pain continued, picking up speed and volume rapidly.

Daring to raise his head and peer over the sea of stalks, Shark saw the source of the noise. An older man was bent over, struggling to lift a block of granite, while a guard Shark already knew as being one of the cruel ones was flogging him ruthlessly. Anger sparked in his heart and he clenched his fists. He knew that the old man was from his home island of Saleek; they had spoken together before about familiar places they knew. It was because of his acquaintance with this man that Shark knew his people believed him, as well as his sisters, long dead.

Emperor Ralphenom had often reminded his son that the power granted to rulers should be used to protect and shelter their people, not harm them. Shark's father had died for his way of thinking, and as his son, Shark was now responsible to protect his people. It was risky, he knew that. For anyone else, it would have been suicide. But Shark remembered Domitian's words to him- _you don't get to die yet-_ and he knew that this wasn't the case for him.

Tiger stared at his protector as he rose to his feet and began making his way towards the bloody scene. "Shark! Shark, get back here! Are you crazy?" Tiger knew that Wolfsbane had been extremely lenient with Shark the one time he had dared to speak up in his defense; surely he didn't expect the same thing every time! Also, he couldn't help but be a bit resentful. So, it was okay for Shark to get up and walk away and leave his work, but if Tiger even so much as looked up, it was a disaster?

All of the slaves looked up in astonishment as Shark marched past them, determination written on his face. Murmurs of "Is he crazy?" and "Must have death wish" followed him to where the old man was hunched over, not even trying to lift the granite anymore, just attempting to shield himself from the onslaught of blows.

"I'll teach you to be lazy, you ugly old hunchback!" the guard screamed at him. He raised the whip for another blow, but this time he was stunned into stopping.

"Hold it right there!"

Furious, the guard whirled on Shark. "You dare to give me an order? You, an insignificant slave?"

"Don't you dare strike him again!" There were gasps from the slaves nearby. Not only had Shark given a guard two orders, he had practically threatened him!

"Oh, he's dead now!" Tiger covered his eyes with his hands. He couldn't bear to watch Shark die.

"So, a smart-mouth, eh? You'll find out what happens to smart-mouthed slaves who talk back to me!" He raised the whip and lashed out at Shark with all his strength. It accomplished very little. Shark raised his hand and grabbed the lash out of the air, twisting it around his arm to gain more leverage, and yanked it out of the soldier's hand.

There was a long, cold silence. "You! You'll pay for your impudence!" The guard lunged for Shark, but the purplelette quickly side-stepped, leaving him with a mouth full of dirt.

"Go!" Shark snapped at the older man, who was watching in stunned fascination.

"But- why- bless you, son!" The old man rose as quickly as he could and hobbled off. He knew better than to give Shark the you-shouldn't-have-done-that speech. It would have been utterly pointless, Since Shark was already in deep water, and if he hung around, he could be caught and punished more, making Shark's daring rescue worthless.

The soldier was must faster in getting to his feet. "Come here, you worthless brat!" With one swift motion, he had grabbed Shark by the hair and threw him to the ground, using the boy's momentary surprise to yank the whip out of his hand. For the first time in many moons, Shark felt the sting of a whip across his back. He bit his lip to keep himself from crying out as several more lashes fell across his body.

"Stop, Najursk." A new voice entered the scene. Najursk looked up to see Weasel, with a bucket and ladle in his hands, approaching.

"And why should I? He was disrespectful towards me, and he's getting what he deserves!"

"It seems to me you've punished him quite enough. You don't want to overdo it." Shark was amazed. Since when had Weasel gained such authority?

"What are you talking about, boy?"

"Check his right shoulder. He has the mark. Shark is the Emperor's property. You aren't allowed to bang him up too badly." Glaring, Najursk ripped Shark's shirt- a new one Wolfsbane had gotten for him out of the supply shack, since he didn't want any of his slaves getting sun burn- off at the right shoulder. There, as Weasel had said, there was a vertical scar, definitely not from a whip.

Najursk let out a sound that sounded like a cross between a growl and a scream. Furious, he threw Shark back to the ground and kicked him brutally in the side. "Fine then," he muttered.

As soon as Najursk was gone, Weasel quickly bent down and helped Shark get to his feet. "You really need to stop depriving yourself of your morning water," he said, filling the ladle with water from the bucket and holding it to Shark's lips. "It's making you delusional."

Despite telling himself that he should savor the drink, Shark gulped the water down as fast as he could. "Tiger needs it more than I do."

"He still hasn't figured out that you're slipping your morning supply into his cup has he."

"No. Where'd you learn to show that much confidence?"

Weasel sighed. Shark was not one to be pushed down a path of conversation he was determined not to be. "From you, actually. If you can face these creeps down, than so can I. But to tell you the truth, I was shaking in my boots the whole time."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't let it show. Do you have any news about Tiger's sister?"

The two boys stood and began making their way back to Shark's plot, slowly, so they could talk along the way. "Yes; actually I found out about all the women who were taken captive." He took a deep breath and began, "The Emperor took them and had them groomed specifically to give to his army for their…entertainment on their day off.

Shark closed his eyes. He knew the extent of Domitian's cruelty all too well, and he had expected as much. "And what happened to the women when the soldiers had had their fill of them?"

"Executed. All of them. They say the Emperor had them lined up completely nude, for all to see, while they waited for their turn at the auction block."

"Did any of them die in pain?"

"As far as I know, no. The executions were swift beheadings. Oh, I also have news about the war."

"Good or bad?"

"It depends on how you look at it."

"Just…tell me."

"Drachelm's been taken. The King and all of his Knights, as well as the apprentices, were defeated. It was a complete victory."

Shark turned to him sharply. "What about Du- what about Stalminus's son? Did they say anything about him?"

"Specifically? No, I don't think so. Though, it's because a whole lot of people have been taken as slaves from Drachelm that they're getting rid of slaves that are less than satisfactory. They're either being sold or executed."

They had reached Shark's plot of sugarcane stalks. Numbly, the boy sank down to his knees, trying not to burst into tears. He had hoped that Drachelm would be left out of this war; that Dumon would be free to live his life. Now he knew better. Domitian would not stop until he had conquered all of Baria.

"And that's not all," Weasel continued. "There's a rumor going around that Domitian is planning to send a raiding party to Heartland."

"To Heartland." All of his father's efforts to leave them alone, make them more open for a peace treaty, down the drain.

"Uh-huh. Whoops, gotta go." Quickly Weasel hurried off to Wolfsbane, who was yelling at him to stop fraternizing and get his a** over there.

"Shark!" Tiger was staring at his comrade in a mixture of disbelief and amazement. "You back talked to a guard!"

"So I did."

"And you survived."

"So I did."

"Is that all you have to say?"

"Tiger, I- I have some news. About Lanu."

"My sister?" Tiger's face brightened. "Is she alright? Have they done anything else to her? Do they treat her well?"

"Tiger, she's… Lanu is dead, Marya. They killed her. She didn't suffer, though. It was quick and painless. I'm sorry."

"She's dead," Marya repeated. "But…she can't be! She…she just…can't be."

"I'm afraid it can be- and is."

"But- but that's not fair! Lanu would never hurt anyone! Why would they do this to her? She didn't do anything to them. Why…why would they..." Marya burst into tears. Shark reached out to comfort her, wishing there was something else he could do. Wishing he could have stopped it from happening in the first place.

"No," he whispered. "It's not fair." _Few things are, these days._

 **Next time on** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves:**_ **Rio and Iris spend a supposedly carefree day with the Arclights, but Rio is consistently reminded that she is trapped in a place she wants to escape from.**


	7. Picnic

"Come on, Iris! Rio, hurry up! Come on, come on!" Rio smiled at young Prince Michael's enthusiasm. Now also known as Trey to her and her sister, Iris, he was an adorable child. He had turned seven in March, which was the month, Quinton had calculated, that corresponded with the beginning of the Barian "year." Now, the curly red-head was laughing and pulling five year-old Iris behind him on the small path that wound through the woods behind the Arclights' summer estate. They had come up here for the last week of July- the last week before the visitors from Tenjo and Tsukamo arrived.

Today, a King Byron had promised his youngest, the group was going down to the creek to have a picnic. Rio and Quattro were carrying the large picnic basket between them, and Quinton had the rolled up picnic blanket. At first, when Rio had heard that they were going to have a meal outside, down by Crystal Creek, she had thought that they would be fishing for their meal and gathering berries along the way. She should have known that the Arclightians would never have considered such a thing, and she hadn't really been very surprised when the cook had begun packing the meal into the basket.

Despite the fact that it would not be like the cookouts that Rio had enjoyed in her home country, she was looking forward to an afternoon outside, especially by the creek! She and Nash had always played in the creeks and streams near the palace that had been their home, splashing each other as much as they could. It probably would not be considered proper for Rio to plunge into a creek here in Arclight, but to be near water again would be comforting.

Crystal Creek turned out to be too small for swimming anyway, but it was well-named. Rio and Iris could see straight down to the bottom, which was decorated with small stones and pebbles.

"Don't stand so near to the water, girls!" King Byron called out warningly. "We don't want you falling in now, would we?" Rio didn't think it was possible for anyone with any sense to actually drown in Crystal Creek, but she reluctantly stepped away and pulled Iris along with her.

"Let's eat!" Quattro said, throwing open the picnic basket and beginning to pull out sandwiches, jugs of juice and water, some rolls and butter, as well as a whole cake in a box. Most of the basket, Rio discovered, was full of napkins, cups, and silver wear. Arclights ate only sandwiches with their fingers, and it would have been considered outrageous for two people to drink out of the same jug, even if they were in the same family. Rio found herself wanting to laugh at the absurdity of it: here they had an enormous picnic basket that could be stocked with food, yet it had only sandwiches, extra bread, drinks, and desert because these people were afraid to get each other's germs! She found it so amusing that she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

The sandwiches were delicious, even though Rio didn't have the slightest idea what they were made of. Maybe it was better that way. The cake, too, was fabulous, though she had to make sure to take delicate bites in keeping with Arclight custom.

When they were finished eating, King Byron and Chris took out their books and settled down to read. Quattro had a puzzle made of some beads and rope, as well as a metal ring. He had explained to the sisters one afternoon that the point of the game was to get the ring off of the rope. Rio had tried it and found it to be intriguing, but also extremely difficult.

She looked around for a bit, trying to decide what to do. If they expected her to just sit there for them to look at, they were crazy. Then she looked at the creek and had an idea. "Iris!" She called to her sister, "Come here!"

From where she had been lying on her back and staring at the sky, Iris scrambled to her feet and ran over to where Rio was sitting by the creek. "What is it Rio?"

"I want to show you something." Rio pulled her sister down next to her and leaned over the water, extending both her hands. "You-know-you taught this to me when we were really young- before you were born."

Iris was puzzled. "Who know you?" she asked.

Lowering her voice even more, Rio whispered "Our brother." Iris understood. The Arclights could never know that they had a brother, especially a brother who was Rio's twin. Surely the royal families of Heartland knew that the leaders of their enemies had been blessed with twins, a boy and a girl. 

"Here, watch." Rio dipped her hands into the water, letting it flow through them. Then, suddenly, she clenched her fists and a stream of water shot up into the air. Iris gasped and laughed.

"Teach me!" she insisted. Time passed quickly as Rio taught her look-a-like to cup her hands just right, allow the water to fill them, and then suddenly close the space, leaving the water that had filled it with nowhere to go but up. Iris caught on quickly and soon the two sisters were in a contest to see who could make the water shoot up highest. As they played, Rio's mind flashed back to a similar day, a long time ago, when she and Nash had had a similar competition. She remembered how frustrated she had been when she couldn't beat him; how frustrated she _always_ was when he excelled her in something. Those little arguments hardly seemed to matter now. She just wanted to see her brother again. Quickly she turned her head to hide her tears.

She had just managed to get a hold of herself when Iris exclaimed, "Oh, Rio look!" Iris exclaimed suddenly. "See that pebble down there? It's pink!"

Rio peered into the water and saw the rock that Iris meant. "It sure looks pink," Rio said, "But it might just be the water and the sun combining to distort the colors."

"Let's get it and find out!" Iris attempted to roll up her sleeve in order to prevent it from getting wet, but she soon found out it was too tight to roll up too far. After a few more tried, she shrugged and dipped her entire arm, sleeve and all, into the water. As with most bodies of water that are clear, the bottom was farther away than it looked, so Iris flattened herself on her stomach and pushed her arm in deeper, all the way up to the shoulder. Granted, she wasn't that tall, so the water wasn't extremely deep, but still Rio gave her a warning.

"Be careful, Iris."

"I'm fine! Almost…got it…whoa!" The younger of the two sisters fell, head first, into Crystal Creek.

Everyone reacted simultaneously. "Iris!" Rio yelped in surprise. Quattro and Trey, both alerted by the splash, jumped to their feet and ran over. King Byron grasped his cane and, with Chris's help, managed to get to his feet.

"What are you girls doing? I told you to stay away from the bank!"

Rio didn't get a chance to answer because, in the next moment, Iris was up on her feet in the knee-deep water, dripping wet, and clutching the mysterious pebble in her hand. "I got it!" She announced proudly.

"Got what?" Chris asked, trying not to snap at the little girl for scaring them all out of their minds.

"The pink rock." Climbing out of the creek, Iris held out the pebble to the group, showing them her prize.

"A pink rock?" Michael's curiosity was peaked.

"A pink- Oh, yes, yes." King Byron heaved a large sigh. "The minerals in the water turn everything- rocks, soil, even plants that put their roots down near the creek- odd colors."

"Cool," said Iris, showing the rock to Trey.

"I've never heard of anything like that before," Rio commented.

"Mineral water is incredibly useful," Chris said, jumping at the chance to make use of all his knowledge. "Bathing in it can heal wounds, drawing out infections. Drinking it can help sick people get well, and healthy people stay that way."

"And it can make dull old rocks turn pretty colors!" Iris added enthusiastically, before sneezing. Rio noticed that her teeth were chattering and her lips were turning blue.

"Oh, dear," King Byron sighed again. "We'd better get you back up to the house and into some warm clothes. You're probably going to catch a bad cold."

The group quickly packed up their supplies, except for the picnic blanket, which King Byron wrapped around Iris to keep her warm. "You'd better carry her, Chris," he said, handing the small girl to his oldest son. "I don't want her to waste extra energy."

"Of course, Father," Quinton said, accepting the shivering girl. Once again, Rio and Quattro picked up the picnic basket, which was now a great deal less heavy, and followed along behind. Trey stuck close to Quinton, repeatedly asking if Iris was going to be alright.

"Rio," Quattro began, clearing his throat nervously, "I've been wanting to ask you something for a long time."

"Yeah?"

"That… that ring on your finger. Isn't it awfully unusual for… a slave to have something made of silver? Where'd you get it?"

"Oh, it's not made of silver. It's made of platinum."

"Platinum?"

"Far more rare and valuable. It's not as shiny as silver, but it's much more durable."

"Oh. Cool. So, where'd you get it?"

"My parents…gave it…to me." Rio suddenly realized her mistake. She had told the Arclights that she was from a peasant family. How was she going to explain that her peasant parents had given her a ring that was made of material far more valuable than silver? "That is… all twins get them at birth." She mentally slapped herself. _Twin!_ She said it- there was no going back now. She took a deep breath and waited for the gasp, the accusation, for her world to come crashing down around her…

"Oh, I'm sorry. So, was it a sister or a brother that you lost?"

"What?" she was stunned.

"Was it a brother or a sister that was your twin?"

"A…a brother. My brother."

"I'm sorry. He was first, right?"

"Um, yes…"

"Did your parents give him a name before they buried him?"

"Buried him?"

"Yeah. They did bury him didn't they?"

"No!"

"Then what did they do with his body?"

"His…You've lost me."

"You said he was your twin. Everyone knows that women can't deliver twins safely. The first one is usually killed coming out so the doctor can save the mother and the second baby. The doctor had to kill your brother to save you and your mother. But why am I telling you this? You already know. So, did your parents name your brother?"

"My brother is not dead!" Rio cried. It was more of a reassurance to herself than a rebuff to Quattro. "He's not dead," she sobbed.

"I- I'm sorry. So… did your mother…you know…"

"No! I don't know what you know about birthing, but our women have been having twins safely for years. I guess we're just stronger than you are!" Rio gasped at what she had said. "Quattro, I- I'm sorry, I-"

"It's okay," the boy sighed. "We heard rumors that you Barians could deliver twins. I understand now, why you were confused. So… if your brother didn't die as a baby, where is he? Oh, sorry. Dumb question. He was probably sold to someone else. And you don't know where he is. All you know is that he has to still be alive."

Rio looked at him in astonishment "You…understand," she whispered.

"Not really," Quattro admitted. "But I know how I'd feel, if one of my brothers was gone…separated from me, taken someplace that I didn't know. I'm sorry that things didn't turn out differently, Rio."

For a moment, Rio Kastle didn't know what to do. Then she smiled at him. "Thank you," She whispered. He smiled back at her, and for the first time since leaving home, Rio almost felt safe and happy.

 **Next time on** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves:**_ **Rio and Iris make some new friends when the Tsukamo family arrives at Arclight.**


	8. The Tsukamos

Emperor Kazuma of Tsukamo looked out across the port of Herald's Crest and drew a long sigh, wondering for the millionth time if he was doing the right thing. His wife, Empress Mira, joined him at their ship's rail.

"Maybe we should have waited. Maybe we're pushing her too far. Maybe-"

"Don't start this again, Kazuma," Mira sighed. "We've told Kari over and over again that we're not expecting a marriage to come out of this; it's just an experiment, to find out how they get along together."

"Right," Kazuma nodded. _Of course, I'm not pushing my daughter into an arranged marriage. If I was, she would let me know._ Kari was very headstrong, after all.

"Lift me up, Dad! I wanna see!" Kazuma looked down to see his younger child, Prince Yuma, tugging at his trousers. Smiling, he reached down and scooped the boy into his arms, whirling him around in the air before placing him on his shoulders. Yuma was seven years old, just like Prince Michael, but while he was a March baby, Yuma was several months older, having been born in October. A curious and adventurous child, he was constantly getting into mischief. HE was very excited about the visit to Arclight, not only because he would get to visit his friend Michael, but also because the county was so different from his own.

Tsukamo was a land of rough terrain; the few cities it had were built around cisterns filled with water pumped from deep beneath the earth. Most of its citizens herded animals- cattle, big-horned sheep, hogs, donkeys, etc. - that could survive on the tough grasses that grew in less rocky areas. Many others were craftsmen or women, creating things out of the metals mined from rich veins in the northern hills. Some women also wove baskets out of the sturdy reeds and grasses, making their own dyes at home. Kazuma's mother, the retired Empress Haru, was famous for such dyes that she made out of berries, flowers, and roots that grew around her villa, where she spent most of her days now. All things considered, Tsukamo was very different than Arclight, a land of streams, rivers, plains, meadows, and many industrious cities.

Yuma had brought along some of his friends for the journey, anxious to show them such things that he himself barely remembered from his last visit. One of them, Tori Meadows, had been his playmate from birth since her mother was Empress Mira's handmaiden and personal assistant. Mr. Meadows worked in the royal stables, and Meredith, Mrs. Meadow's mother, had been Empress Haru's companion while she held the throne. Now she, too, lived in the villa in the northern hills. It did not look as though Tori would be following in her mother's and grandmother's footsteps. When the two women had become pregnant at the same time, they had hoped for it, but when Yuma had turned out to be a boy, the possibility was gone. It would never have been appropriate for Yuma to choose a female as his companion.

Two years ago, when Kari had turned twelve, they had begun interviewing girls her age to be her handmaiden, because there were no servants' children that quite fit the bill. Among those interviewed was Brianna Stone, a robust girl with a heavy accent from the northern hills. Her father was dead, having been killed in a mining accident, and her mother cooked to help make ends meet for her children. Kari and Brianna were very different- Kari was refined and enjoyed writing; Brianna was wild and riding bareback was her favorite pastime, but they had become the best of friends very quickly. After sampling Mrs. Stone's cooking, Kazuma had invited the entire family to come and live in the palace. Mrs. Stone was now chief cook, and her younger child, Bronk, had become Yuma's good friend.

Recently, another friend had been added to Yuma's circle- Caswell Francis. Kazuma's valet, Lord Kay, had married his mother, widowed seamstress named Cassandra Francis (Cass for short). Caswell had been invited on the expedition, but he taken ill and the doctor had insisted that he remain in bed for at least a month. Yuma had been very disappointed, complaining that Caswell was the only person he knew that could get so sick in August.

Lord Kay joined the Emperor by the railing now, his red cape draped perfectly around his shoulders. Everyone in the royal entourage- the royal family, including Haru, Mrs. Meadows, Lord Kay, Brianna, Tori, and Bronk- were dressed up in their finest attire for the arrival at the Arclight palace. They had tried to get Yuma to put his crown on earlier, but he was so excited that he had run around all morning and it had fallen off so many times that his mother decided that it wasn't worth it.

"We'll put it on in the carriage before we reach the palace," she had sighed, tucking it into her pocket.

Kazuma was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of trumpets being blown. He returned his attention to Herald's Crest and saw that trumpeters and Arclightian soldiers were lining the dock, and that a red carpet had been rolled out for the arriving royals. He sighed, and next to him, Lord Kay laughed.

"Grin and bear it, right, Kazuma?"

The Emperor nodded. "Grin and bear it." Kazuma hated grandeur and extravagance, but here in Arclight, all ceremonies were filled with pomp and circumstance.

Soon, it was time to depart and face the challenges of the day. The gangplank was lowered, and Lord Kay retreated to the back of the line, where he would be able to keep an eye on everyone. Arm in arm, Emperor Kazuma and Empress Mira descended first, while the music played around them. Then came Princess Kari and Prince Yuma, whom Kari kept a firm grip on, not wanting to lose the excited child in the crowd. Following them were Empress Haru, and then Mrs. Meadows and Brianna, the handmaidens. Behind them were Tori and Bronk, and last but not least, Lord Kay.

The march down the red carpet was an ordeal for young Yuma, who wanted desperately to go and say hello to everyone in the crowd who was waving so enthusiastically at him. However, soon the royal family was getting inside the carriage, and the Prince's attention was drawn elsewhere. There were two carriages, one for the five members of the royal family, and another for everyone else. Such customs were not followed so strictly in Tsukamo, but here in Arclight…

"I want Bronk and Tori to ride with me!" Yuma announced when he saw that they were getting in different vehicles.

"Tori wants to travel with her m other, dear," Mira said gently.

"What about Bronk?"

"He wants to travel with Brianna."

"Why can't Mrs. Meadows and Brianna just come with us too then ?"

"Because there isn't enough room, dear."

Kari rolled her eyes at her brother's naivety, accepting the offered footman's hand as she climbed aboard the carriage herself. Soon Yuma forgot the temporary loss of his friends in the excitement of beginning to move. The two carriages rolled out of Herald's Crest with the crowds of people still cheering and waving and trumpets still blowing.

Emperor Kazuma slouched in his seat. "Thank goodness that's over."

* * *

Prince Yuma was not the only one trying to defy tradition that morning. Prince Thomas was determined that Rio and Iris be there with the royal family to welcome their guests. He had been arguing for it all morning. Rio was embarrassed and had tried to tell him that he didn't _have_ to make such valiant efforts for her sake, but Quattro just insisted that he wanted to do this for the sisters.

"I want you to meet Tori. She's a year younger than you, but I figured you won't mind having some more female company that's closer to your age." For this reason, Rio's protests weren't as insistent as they could have been. She did want to meet this Tori girl, and she was curious to see Emperor Kazuma and his family up close.

In the end, Quattro won the argument; more because he had more energy than his opponent than anything else, and both sisters were present to welcome the Tsukamonian visitors. They wore their usual simple dresses without their aprons, and stood slightly behind the royal family, but Rio didn't mind. She was excited to be able to observe yet another Heartlandish royal family.

Emperor Kazuma was relieved when the formalities of arriving at the palace were over and all the soldiers and servants had pulled out to give the royals some privacy. "Byron!" he greeted his friend enthusiastically, pulling him into a hug.

"Kazuma!" Byron hugged back, laughing in relief. No one could relieve tension as easily as Emperor Kazuma of Tsukamo. The two men exchanges greetings rapidly, as if they could not find out soon enough how the other had been, almost speaking over one another in their excitement. Rio was amazed. Having lived almost a year among the stiff politeness of the Arclights, she found such familiarity almost foreign. When she had first arrived here, Rio had been annoyed with how little emotion the Heartlanders seemed to show, so little that at times she had wondered if they even felt anything. Now, though, she knew that they felt as deeply as Barians did, but they only revealed such emotions in private. She had also realized that this was what made Quattro- and his mother from what she'd learned of her- different from everyone else she observed. He wasn't as hesitant to show how he felt.

The mood quickly became less casual, though, when King Byron stepped forward to greet Empress Mira. "Good to see you again, your Highness," he said, bringing the lady's hand to his lips. "I trust the voyage was not too hard on you?"

"It was quite smooth, thank you," Mira said, her orange hair falling gracefully down her back. "And these are your boys? My, they grow up so fast." This statement was accompanied by a wistful sigh. She stepped forward and greeted each boy in turn, but Rio didn't miss the extra scrutiny she gave Quinton. Chris immediately stood up straighter, aware that this woman might someday be his mother-in-law. However, Rio could not imagine being more than a little nervous around this woman, having already decided that she was kind. Her suspicions were confirmed when the Empress said, "Your mother would be very proud to see you three today." Both Quattro and Trey stood taller now, faint smiles on their lips. Rio smiled as well, knowing what the words meant to her friends.

The smile vanished, however, when the Empress's eyes landed on her and Iris. Mira herself did smile, but only to cover up her befuddlement. "Why, I don't believe I know these two lovely young ladies."

"Oh! Yes…" King Byron looked suddenly uncomfortable, trying to find the words to say what everyone already knew: these girls were westerners, probably Barians, for no Heartlander would have had such coloring.

"This is Rio and that's her sister Iris," Quattro spoke up, not at all deterred. "I thought they might like to meet Tori Meadows."

"Oh, how very thoughtful of you," Mira smiled at him again, but her eyes still held confusion. It was Yuma who finally got the conversation rolling again.

"They look funny," he said. Kari swatted him on the back of the head.

"They don't look _funny_ son; they just look different," Kazuma said sternly.

"That's because they're Barians," Trey spoke up proudly. There were gasps of surprise- not really because the two girls were Barians, because most of them had already guessed that, but mostly because they were _here_ in the Arclight royal palace.

Kazuma looked at Byron sharply. "Barians?"

"Yes, Kazuma; I can explain. Rio and Iris's story is very unusual. You see-"

"Byron," the Tsukamonian Emperor interrupted him, "How do you happen to have two Barian girls living with you?"

Byron sighed in defeat. "I bought them at a slave market."

"I thought you outlawed child slavery! Byron, you _know_ how I feel about the slave trade. Especially when it comes to children! What could have possessed you to-"

"I couldn't very well leave them in the system, now, could I? Besides, they had nowhere else to go!" King Byron quickly summed up the story Rio had given him to explain why she and Iris had been drifting around the ocean. "I intend to give each of them an allowance when they reach the age of twelve, and when they turn eighteen, they will be free to remain here as payed servants or leave to do what they please with their futures."

Rio was surprised. This was the first she had heard of any allowances or choices over whether to stay or go. Of course, they didn't matter at all, really, since she didn't intend to be here that long.

It was obvious that Emperor Kazuma was uncertain about what to say next. Luckily, Empress Haru chose that moment to step in. "Kari, the Arclights have wonderful gardens. I'm sure Prince Christopher would be glad to show them to you."

Chris was startled. "What? Oh, of course. This way your Highness," he said, offering the girl his arm. She was just as glad to get away from the adults as he was, and gratefully took it. The two of them strode off together, and anyone observing them would have thought they had been good friends for years.

"Yuma, why don't you and your friends go inside with Prince Thomas and Prince Michael and the girls? I'm sure you kids will have more fun in there together than out here with us adults."

"Huh? Oh, sure, Grandma." Yuma, Tori, and Bronk, as well as Brianna, who gained permission with a discreet nod from Empress Mira, filed inside after Thomas, Michael, Rio, and Iris.

Rio clutched Iris's hand tightly, not sure what to expect from this encounter. To her surprise, a green-haried girl fell into step beside her. "Hi! I'm Tori!"

"Uh… I'm Rio, and this is my sister Iris."

"Nice to meet you," Tori said, waving a little at Iris, who was trying to hide behind her sister's skirt. "Don't worry about Yuma," she continued," she continued. "He doesn't mean any harm. He just doesn't know anything about how to treat ladies."

"Oh. Oh!" Rio laughed, understanding the meaning of Tori's words. She didn't consider the sisters any different than herself, even if they were Barians.

 **Next time on** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves:**_ **Tiger's worst nightmare becomes a reality when Shark collapses from heat stroke.**


	9. Heat Stroke

Tiger had slipped into the routine of field life enough to start noticing when things were off. It had been just over two moon changes since Shark had taken him under his wing, and he was beginning to suspect that his efforts to protect him were costing Shark too much. A few sun cycles ago, he had noticed that his water cup seemed to remain full longer than anyone else's. In the middle of the morning, all the slaves were given a ladle full of water from a bucket that the guards brought around to them. Each slave had a cup to old their morning ration. They would get another drink at lunchtime, and then another in midafternoon.

However, each morning, Tiger's water supply lasted almost to lunchtime. All the slaves tried to make the supply last as long as possible by only taking a sip now and then, but even when he went at the same pace as those around him, Tiger's cup still retained water when the others were empty. Tiger had tried to match his pace with Shark, but he never saw him take a sip, and Tiger couldn't afford to focus all his attention on him. The guards would notice sooner or later.

The evening before, however, as he had been pondering it, he had seen Shark take a sip of water. Tiger had realized that maybe there was a reason he never saw Shark take a drink in the morning. Now, he was determined to find out for himself. Now that it was morning again, Tiger watched Shark's every move out of the corner of his eye. Sure enough, when Shark thought he wasn't looking, he poured a bit of his water into Tiger's cup.

Tiger's hand shot out and grabbed Shark's wrist. "Stop!" he hissed. "Shark, I know you're trying to help me, but dehydrating yourself isn't the way to do it!"

For a moment, Shark seemed taken aback and unsure of what to do. Then his eyes narrowed determinedly. "Your body is still adjusting. You need the extra water."

"How can my body adjust if you won't let it? And it isn't extra water- it's your morning supply! How long have you been keeping this up?"

"Since a couple of suns after you got here."

Tiger was stunned. He had been doing it for that long? And he hadn't noticed? "Well, I'm telling you to stop it- right now. Drink your own water ration."

"You don't understand, Tiger," Shark said calmly. "I do drink my own ration- just a little later."

"What does that mean? Don't lie to me just because you think it's for the best. Lanu did that, and look where it got her!"

"You don't know that your sister knew what was going to happen. Listen to me, Marya," Shark said sharply, seeing that she was about to interrupt him again. "Go back to work. I'll explain everything. But you have to promise not to say a word. It could get a lot of people in trouble."

Blowing his bangs out of his face and scowling, Tiger once again began tugging at the weed he had been working on earlier. So quietly Tiger had to strain to hear him, Shark began talking again.

"There's a guard that I'm friendly with. You remember that run-in I had with Najursk? Well, the guard who got me out of that is my friend. We met on the ship coming over here. He brings me an extra cup of water every morning. So you see? I'm fine. Please just drink both our rations."

Tiger considered. Shark had done a lot for him, and if he was still drinking the same amount every day anyway… "Alright. But you take a sip of your ration before you give it to me." Shark quickly took a small sip of water and then handed his cup to Tiger, who poured the remaining water into his own cup. "I hope we don't regret this," he muttered.

That morning seemed to drag on much longer than usual. A knot of anxiety was building in Tiger's stomach. Each sip of Shark's water left a foul taste in his mouth, like- what was it? Guilt, Tiger realized. He should have tried harder to convince Shark that he didn't need the extra ration. He shouldn't be drinking his friend's water now that he _knew_ he was doing it. He should have been firm.

Tiger found himself looking up at any approaching footsteps, hoping that it would be Shark's solider friend. Once, though, he was caught, and the guard that was passing by boxed his ears as punishment, telling him to keep his eyes on his work.

"Are you okay?' Shark asked, barely restraining himself from chasing after the guard and knocking him down.

"Yeah, I think so," Tiger said, gingerly rubbing his ears. "How 'bout you?"

"I'm fine," Shark said shortly, yanking out another weed. Tiger didn't believe him. Shark was paler than usual, and he kept blinking, as though he couldn't see clearly. _Where was that guard?_

As the sun climbed higher, Shark was becoming dizzy and lightheaded. The lightheadedness was soon replaced by a throbbing headache. _It's nothing. I just have to work at a slower pace, that's all._ He tried to focus on the weed he was working on, but it seemed to have disappeared into a blur of green, brown, and yellow. He suddenly felt as though the ground had tipped, throwing him off balance. Frantically he reached out for a handhold and was almost surprised when he felt the earth beneath him. _Why is the world spinning?_ He wondered.

Tiger had been startled when Shark slammed his fists into the ground so suddenly. "Shark?" Horrified, Tiger saw his friend's eyes roll back in his head as he fell forward, face-first into the dirt. "Shark! Come on, get up!" Tiger reached over and tried to pull Shark back up, but he was unconscious, and his deadweight was too much for her to lift.

"Get up Shark! You know what happens to slaves who collapse while working!" Actually, no one really knew what happened to slaves too weak to keep going. All they knew for sure was that they were taken away and never heard from again. "Shark, please," Marya was desperate. How would she survive without him to protect her? Marya had come to see Shark as an older brother ever since losing Lanu, and she couldn't lose him too. "Please, she said again, managing to roll him over and wipe some of the dirt off his face. "Wake up."

Shark's appearance scared her even more. He was pale, and though his skin was hot to the touch, he was hardly sweating. He didn't have enough fluids in him to do so. Frantically Marya snatched up her cup of water- there was still a little bit left- and tried to pour it down Shark's throat. She couldn't make it go down; it trickled back out of his mouth. She _knew_ she shouldn't have taken his water! This was all her fault.

"Well, well, what have we here?" Terrified, Tiger looked up to see Najursk and another guard towering over them.

"Shark is… looking for worms!" he blurted out without thinking.

"Oh, really?" Najursk smirked. "He's looking for worms while staring up at the sky with his eyes closed?"

"Uh…" Tiger thought fast. "Well, he's really _listening_ for worms. He figures he can help the plants more if he catches the worms while they're underground and before they have a chance to damage the sugarcane." After he had said it he immediately knew it was the dumbest thing he could have done. Najursk and his partner howled with laughter, clutching their sides.

"He's _listening_ for worms," Najursk crowed. "How original." Then his eyes hardened. "It appears that Shark can't handle his work load anymore and has laid down on the job. That means that he's useless. And we all know what happens to useless slaves."

Tiger decided to go to his last resort. "Please don't take him!" he begged. "He just needs water! It's my fault. I-"

"Shut up!" Najursk's friend snapped, viciously cuffing him. "Unless you want to join your friend." Smirking, Najursk grabbed Shark by the hair and dragged him off through the dirt before Tiger could recover from the blow. "Get back to work runt! You have double the amount of it now!" The second guard turned and swaggered off, leaving her alone.

Marya tried to hold back her tears, but soon the world around her blurred beyond recognition, and she gave in to her weeping.

* * *

By the time Weasel arrived, her eyes had dried, but they were still red from her sobs. "I'm sorry I'm late," the young soldier panted. "But Wolfsbane caught me and I had to make up a story about a secret flowerbed and- hey, where's Shark?"

Marya turned her tear-streaked face toward him, not thinking, as she would have at any other time, _so, this is Shark's friends among the guards._ "You're too late," she said hoarsely. "They took him away."

Weasel stared at her, as if waiting her to smile and say that she was only joking; that Shark was only gone for a little bit and would soon be back. "No," he whispered. "It can't be." Marya turned her head away and went back to her work. She couldn't bear the look of shock and guilt on her face. It only reminded her of the direness of her situation.

* * *

Shark came to in the back of the wagon that Najursk had thrown him in. The jostling aggravated his already throbbing headache, as did the sun, which was now directly overhead. He wondered dimly what had happened, but soon he had once again slipped into unconsciousness, giving him relief from the pain.

The next thing he was aware of was someone grabbing his shirt and yanking him out of the wagon, placing him on his own two feet. "Get moving, you worthless brat!" the person growled at him. Shark tried to take a step forward, but found he couldn't hold his own weight and pitched forward instead. He would have hit the stone beneath him but for one Astranian who grabbed him by the scruff of the neck to keep him upright. He was dragged to a table against one wall of the courtyard- it looked almost like the inside of a fort, Shark thought, once he got a chance to look around.

Behind the table sat two soldiers, and lying open before them was a large ledger. This ledger was used to keep track of all the slaves who were executed, as all of those who collapsed in the fields were, so that when the Emperor "collected" more, his overseers would know where they were needed. Now, one the soldiers picked up a pen and addressed the guard holding Shark.

"Where's he coming from?"

"The third sugarcane field." The man scribbled this down. Next to it he added a description: Male, boy, purple hair, blue eyes, pale.

"What's his age?" he asked next. There was no response.

The guard holding Shark shook him roughly. "What's your age, boy?"

"Nine," Shark said weekly. He wondered if this was it for him. By now he had figured out what must have happened: he had collapsed from heat stroke and dehydration. He wondered if now was the time that he would get to die.

The solider behind the table marked down Shark's age, then looked up and studied him again. He turned to his companion. "What do you think? He fits the description."

The second soldier, who up until this point had been staring at the table, now looked up and glanced briefly at Shark. "Check him," he said.

The first soldier nodded. "Show us his right shoulder blade."

The guard behind Shark blinked. "What?"

"His right shoulder blade! Are you deaf, man?"

The guard was still confused, but he shrugged and did as the recorder asked. He pulled Shark's shirt off of him and turned his around to show the two soldiers behind the table his bare back. Sure enough, on his right shoulder blade was a vertical scar.

"That's the one in the description," the second recorder said. "I'll be taking him now." He stood and reached for Shark's arm.

"Taking him where?" the guard behind the boy demanded, tightening the grip on Shark's neck.

"To his cell. This one here is the Emperor's favorite slave- we received this notice saying that if any slave fitting his description- scar and all- was brought in, he was to be given his own cell and cared for until he was ready to be returned to work. His majesty doesn't want him killed yet."

Shark could have sworn he heard the guard behind him mutter, "That's a first." He was handed over to the second recorder, who gripped him firmly by the arm and marched him further into the compound. Shark should have known that this wasn't his day to die. He should have known Domitian would take extra precautions to make sure he wasn't executed for simply lying down on the job. _You don't get to die yet, Shark._

He was led down, down a spiraling stair case made of stone until he and his escort arrived in a circular room, also made of stones. At one end was a throne with other seats around it, and directly before them was what Shark recognized, with an involuntary shudder, as an execution block. Across this was an open space with large stone pillars rising out of it. And then, on the opposite side, on a higher level, was a line of large, rectangular shaped cells, all of them except filled with dirty, injured, and miserable prisoners.

The recorder puled Shark across a narrow stone bridge to the one empty cell. Resentment sparked in Shark's soul. So, Domitian had suspected that this would happen, and he had kept one cell empty, forcing all his other prisoners- the ones who were going to die anyway- in filth and tightly cramped spaces. Just one more example of Domitian's cruelty that Shark would have to watch.

The recorder pushed Shark into the empty cell and chained his wrists and ankles to the wall. He then began giving instruction to the dungeon guards about how Shark was to be treated. Shark tried to listen to this, but the long walk to his cell had drained what little energy he had left, and he had soon drifted off into fitful sleep.

 **Next time on** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves:**_ **Shark has another important meeting in a dungeon cell… with a person* who, like him, might not be what he claims.**

 ***Not an OC.**


	10. Ray Shadows

"Here, drink this." Shark, drifting in between sleep and consciousness, felt a cup being pressed against his lips and something cool and wet filling his mouth. _Water._ Shark tried to sit up and grasp the cup, needing more of that precious liquid, but hands held him back. "Not too fast, not too fast!" the person said shrilly. Forcing himself to go more slowly, Shark drank his fill.

"Thank you," he said when the cup was removed. He managed to push himself up into a sitting position, receiving an unpleasant surprise when chains clanked and he felt the cold iron clamped on his wrists. He dimly remembered being put in the chains, but he had forgotten them until that moment.

The person in his cell was a boy around his own age, with deep violet eyes and orange hair that stuck straight out of his head. He was dressed in simple clothing, but they were still much too fine to be a slave's. His hands were pale and smooth, another sign that he was not accustomed to hard labor. Shark felt like laughing when he thought that, just five seasons ago, he had looked like this boy. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Who, me?" the boy asked, looking around nervously.

"Yes." Shark wondered what was so nerve racking about a question like that.

"Oh, uh, I'm Ray Shadows. I'm… a servant boy here." He said this rather too quickly to be believable, but who was Shark to judge? He wasn't who he said either. "So, what's your name?" Ray asked, clearly changing the subject.

"Shark."

"Shark? Is that your real name?"

An enormous wave of Déjà vu came over Shark as he remembered a similar conversation in a different dungeon cell.

" _I'm called Shark," the boy answered._

" _But that is not your name," the woman said. It wasn't a question._

Interesting, how this time he hadn't included the part about Shark being what he was called. He supposed that, if you used a name long enough, it became yours eventually. "No, it's not my real name, but it is a name that I respond to."

Ray had to take a minute to think this over, but soon he just shrugged and said, "Okay."

"So, are you the servant that's been assigned to take care of me?" Shark asked, remembering the guard's instructions from the night before. At least he assumed it was the night before.

"Oh, yes! I almost forgot!" Ray reached over to his other side and brought out two loaves of bread. "Here. Don't eat it too fast." Shark accepted the rolls in some amazement. They were warm and soft- unlike any bread he'd had since the day he surrendered. Usually he ate bread that was a little burnt or stale, never freshly baked like this.

"I guess he really does want me to get back up on my feet. So he can knock me back down again."

"What?"

"Oh… nothing." Shark took a bite of the bread and chewed slowly, enjoying it.

"So…" Ray seemed to want to ask him something, but unsure about how to do it. "You're the first slave that's been brought in here to recover and then go back to work."

"Really?" Shark asked through a mouthful of his breakfast, keeping his tone casual.

"Yeah. All the others are here to wait for their execution. They aren't given anything- not their own cells, not good food, not even blankets to keep them warm. That's why…" Ray hesitated. "That's why I began visiting them. I bring them the stuff they need. I can't stop them from being… well, you know, but I can try to make them more comfortable. That's why I was surprised when I received orders to feed you and make sure you got better."

"If you aren't supposed to usually take care of the prisoners, what are your normal duties?"

Ray turned bright red. "Oh, I, uh… I have other duties. I just come down here in my spare time. I feel bad for all the prisoners here, because-" He cut himself off abruptly. He was obviously hiding something, but Shark didn't demand an explanation. He probably would have before this whole ordeal, but now he knew the dangers that might be involved.

"Because you can't stop them from being executed. You're powerless." Shark said quietly. He knew the feeling. How many of his own people had died while he slaved away for Domitian, bound by a promise made to protect his sisters?

Ray nodded. "Yeah. That's about it. How did you know?" Shark shrugged and took another bite of bread. "Why aren't you being executed?"

"The Emperor _likes_ me," the purplette said with an ironic laugh. "He wants to keep me because I _entertain_ him."

Ray wasn't following him. "But you're a field slave."

Shark shifted the shackles around his wrists. "Only temporarily. Your emperor- my _master_ \- was trying to teach me how good I had it. When he gets back from war, he'll probably summon me back to his side to drag around on a leash all day; to show me off to all his friends and-" Shark stopped. He'd said more than he meant to. "I'm sorry."

Ray was pale. "Th-that's okay." He stammered.

"So, do you have any news about the war? We don't get much out in the fields." Shark said this as casually as he could, not wanting to alert Ray to how important this information was to him. He was trying also to change the subject, since talking about Domitian seemed to make the boy uncomfortable.

The new subject, however, did not seem to make him relax much at all. "Well… I know they've taken Drachelm. There are lots of rumors going around about what the next target will be. I've heard that it's Sparta, but I've also heard that the Emperor intends to confuse the enemy by pulling back and then send a secret raiding party to Heartland."

Shark finished his breakfast, licking the crumbs off his fingers. He didn't ask Ray anymore questions, seeing as they made him so uncomfortable, but instead sat back and waited for the other boy to say something. He never got the chance. In the next moment a guard had arrived, banging on the bars on Shark's cell to get the boys' attention.

"Hey, Shadows! I told you to feed the slave, not socialize with him. Besides, I thought you had to be back inside the palace before the sun got too high in the sky."

"Oh, no!" Ray yelped, fumbling to collect the cup and pitcher that had held the water and get to his feet. "I've gotta go. See you tonight, Shark."

"Uh…sure."

The guard opened up the door to Shark's cell and Ray scurried out, muttering to himself that he'd better not be late. It wasn't long before he was out of Shark's sight, chained to the wall as he was, but everyone in the dungeon heard the loud _CRASH!_ And Ray's cry of "I'm okay!"

Ray visited Shark every morning and evening, bringing him bread and water, and sometimes fruit or milk. Shark had to admit, it was great to be able to lie against the cool stone, with no weeds to dig up, and eat good food twice a day. Of course, the confinement was frustrating, and Ray could be a little exasperating- he was very excitable. He would talk about of all sorts of things with Shark. Ray wanted to write plays that would be performed all over the empire. All of them stared a brave swordsman and clever trickster named Ray Shadows- he said all the fake names he came up with sounded stupid- who would save damsels in distress and take down corrupt rulers. Ray acted out some of the scenes he had written and them memorized by heart. Shark had to admit they were quite good.

In return, he told him all about life as a field slave. Ray was fascinated, and would often bring paper and pencil with him in order to take notes. Shark's original opinion of Ray-that he was very sheltered and naive- was proved to be true in some ways and false in others. Ray was shocked and appalled by some of the things Shark told him- such as the beatings and the chaining up at night, and yet he had a heartfelt concern for all those who were oppressed, regardless of how awful their situations were. Shark was sometimes caught off guard by a sudden outburst from the younger boy (he had discovered that Ray wouldn't turn nine until the end of the cold season) about how _unfair_ it all was. And Shark could hardly disagree with him.

One evening, as Shark was enjoying some pomegranate seeds- a rare treat he hadn't had since becoming a slave- Ray told him, "I've decided to put a character based after you in my next play." Shark was so surprised that he choked on the pomegranate seeds, and Ray had to hit him on the back a couple of times to get him to cough them up again." Sorry. I didn't think you'd take it that way."

"A character… based after me?" Shark wasn't sure whether to be flattered or flabbergasted.

"Sure, why not? A mysterious boy by the name of Shark is rescued from slavery by the great Ray Shadow, and according to the custom of his people, promises his life in service to the one who saved him. And so the adventure begins!"

Shark tried to find a polite way to tell Ray that he didn't want to be in a play, but at his silence, Ray's face fell. "You hate it."

"No! No, it's a good idea, it's just…" _Does it have to be me?_ "Do you wish you could do that? Rescue me from slavery, I mean?"

It took a while for Ray to answer. He looked around the cell, never meeting Shark's eyes. Then at last he said, "Yes. I wish I could do all the things Ray does in my stories. He's brave and no one can stop him. I'm powerless to really help anybody, and I'm a coward."

"That's not true! You've helped me."

"Yeah. I've fattened you up so they could send you back out into living hell."

"Well, if you want to think of it _that_ way," Shark grumbled.

"You don't?"

"No."

"Oh, good," Ray looked truly relieved. "I wouldn't want you to think of me that way, Shark. You're the only real friend I've ever had, and when they take you back to the field…" he cut himself off, quickly swiping at his eyes, which were quickly filling up with tears. "Well, see you tomorrow."

Shark held up his shackled wrists. "I'm not going anywhere." Ray managed a smile. This had become a private joke between them, since Ray always departed with, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

After he was gone, Shark shifted his chains around, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. The sun was rising and setting earlier now, meaning that harvest time was on its way. He doubted it would be much longer until they decided to send him back to the field, and they probably wouldn't give him any heads up, either. It was only a matter of time now.

 **Next time on** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves:**_ **Independent and headstrong Rio clashes with cold, stubborn Kite.**


	11. Prince Kite

"It's alright, Iris; it's alright. Shh, I've got you, shhh… Thank you, Tori." Rio accepted the glass of water from her friend and held it to Iris's lips, encouraging her to drink. The shaking girl managed a few sips, after which she managed to take a longer drink. When she was sure Iris was calm and could hold the cup herself, Rio handed it to her and used both arms to rock her back and forth. Tori was standing nearby, her concern for the smaller girl evident on her face. Tori and Rio had become great friends over the past few weeks, which was a relief considering that Quattro had been awfully busy lately, with all these visitors in his home.

All of the trouble had started when the Tenjo royal family had arrived, several days after the Tsukamos had. Lord Faker was a scary looking-man, with wild hair and eyes. He was not the most polite of men, but he seemed to respect both Byron and Kazuma, though he disagreed with them on many issues. Quattro had informed Rio that the Tenjos had only been invited to reassure them that the Tsukamos and Arclights were not secretly plotting against them. The Tenjos were, by nature, a suspicious lot. They were also quite dependent on slavery, putting them at odds with their neighbors to the south. Lord Faker, King Byron, and Emperor Kazuma were good enough friends that they had solved many of their differences by talking through them, but no one could be sure if slavery would turn out the same way. It was a black and white issue (If you'll forgive the expression) and there would be no compromises. Lord Faker, however, was not Rio's problem.

Neither was Prince Hart, a boy around Iris's age in a wheel chair. He could be eerily silent at times, but Quinton attributed this to the fact that he didn't get out much and therefore didn't know how to act around people. Rio's problem was Lord Faker's older son, Prince Kite. He was older than Quattro by only a few months, but he acted as though he was much more superior to all of them. He usually spent his time with the adults or with Quinton, but since Quinton was supposed to be spending time with Kari, and the adults didn't want Kite hanging around all the time, he was often dumped with Thomas.

This meant that Rio couldn't spend as much time with her friend as she wanted to. She was okay with that; especially not that she had Tori to talk to. Unfortunately, Rio's presence had created a rift between the two princes. Kite hated the Barians- young and old, male and female. Five years ago, when Prince Hart had been just an infant, Barian raiders had attempted to kidnap him and his mother, Lady Tenjo. She, naturally, had struggled, delaying the invaders. Then, Hart's wails had attracted Tenjonian guards, so the Barians had dropped Hart and escaped with his mother. Hart's legs had been injured in his fall. And the doctors that attended him said he would likely never use his legs. Kite had held a grudge against every member of the Barian race since then.

When they had been younger, Thomas and Kite had gotten along fairly well together, since they had had the common experience of losing their mothers to the Barians. They had plotted their revenge together, planning to conquer all of Baria because of the wrongs committed against their families. Now, though, Quattro's attitude had been changed by meeting Rio and realizing that Barians were just like Heartlanders: some were bad, and some were good.

Kite was not so forgiving. He saw Rio as the enemy, and treated her as such. He even treated Quattro like a criminal, just because he showed mercy to two Barian slave girls. He also had a huge, half-wolf dog that followed him everywhere. He had one blue eye and one brown eye, making him even more terrifying. The dog's name was Orbital, and he shared his master's dislike for Barains. He had snapped at Rio several times, and she had been sure to keep Iris as far away from him as possible.

And now, to top it all off, the arrogant Tenjonian Prince had attacked Iris. Poor, defenseless Iris, who couldn't possibly be to blame because she had been an infant when the attack had happened. Rio had tried to avoid Kite as much as possible, spending most of her time with Tori, Bronk, and Prince Yuma. Both the boys were very friendly, and except for Yuma's remarks about how "different" Rio and Iris looked, there was no tension between them. Whether this was because the Tsukamos had not lost any family members to the Barians or because the boy was oblivious, Rio didn't know.

But Iris, being a curious five-year old, had approached Prince Hart earlier that afternoon. He had been outside, sitting in his wheelchair beside a fountain in the garden and staring off into space. The two children hat sat together and talked, meaning Iris asked questions and Hart answered them. She had then shown him the water shooting trick that Rio had taught her, but since Hart wasn't very good at it, they had decided to play with his ball and jacks instead. The ball and jacks game wasn't as exciting as some of the games Rio had played as a child, but Iris liked it well enough.

Rio had learned all this through her sister's hysterical sobs, which were Kite's doing. He hadn't been happy to find his brother being "corrupted" by a Barian. He had grabbed her by her collar and yanked her away from his brother. He had yelled at her to never come near Hart again, and then said some other things about how the world would be better off without her kind. He had accused her of being a monster, like all of her people. Iris had fled, bursting into tears, and run to Rio.

"I- I want Nash," Iris stammered, in Barian so that the others couldn't understand her.

"I want him too," Rio admitted. Her eyes hardened. "But since he's not here, I'll just have to have a talk with Kite." She got to her feet and said, in Heartlandish, "I'm going to go find Kite."

Tori stared at her. "Rio, you can't-"

"Why not?"

"Because… Well, because Kite's the Tenjonian Crown Prince, and you're a member of the Arclights' household, so if you start a fight, it might create rifts that could lead to war in the future!"

"I may be a member of the Arclights' household, but I'm also a Barian, and that's who Kite has a fight with. I'll be back. Take care of Iris." And with that, Rio was gone.

Rio found Kite in the royal library lecturing to Thomas on the properties of light. She didn't bother to knock. She marched right over to him and snatched his book from his hand.

Kite looked up at her slowly. "What do you think you're doing, slave girl?"

"What gives you the right to yell at my little sister and treat her like a criminal?"

"Simple," Kite said coldly. "I am a prince. You and your sister are slave girls- pieces of property. I can treat you any way I want."

"Perhaps," Rio said. "But you can't escape the consequences! My sister isn't responsible for what happened to your mother or Hart. This means that by blaming her, you have wronged her. I am a Barian. By Barian law, when one commits a crime against another, the victim is allowed to retaliate with an equal attack!" Rio turned and stalked over to Hart, who was sitting in the corner, ignoring Quattro's open-mouthed stare as she passed him, and gripped him by the shoulders.

Orbital, who had been lying in the corner, jumped to his feet and growled, showing his long, white canines. It was then Rio thought that this might not have been the best idea, but she was determined not to back down. She glared at Hart and shook him hard, and began to scream at him.

"How dare your people take me and my sister as slaves? You're all monsters, with no regard for other human beings! You all ought to be hanged. You-"

"You can't talk to him like that!" Kite yelled, getting over his surprise. He reached out to pull Rio away from his brother, but she ducked away from him.

"Why not?" she demanded, fire in her eyes.

"Because he had nothing to do with -" Kite stopped. His face turned red.

"See how you like it," Rio said smugly. "Sorry Hart."

"Oh… that's okay." Hart said weekly. He was in just as much shock as Quattro. No one had ever spoken to Kite like that before.

Kite wasn't sure what to say. He opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Finally he said, "I'm sorry."

"Don't insult me in another language. If you have something to say, say it in Heartlandish so I can understand you!" Quattro, who knew enough Tenjonian to understand Kite's words, stifled a laugh.

"I didn't insult you! I said I'm… I'm sorry."

"Oh." It was Rio's turn to be embarrassed. "Well, it's not me you have to apologize to. It's Iris."

Iris, of course, was scared to be anywhere near Kite, but Rio coaxed her to come stand in the hallway outside the library, while the doors were open, so Kite could apologize to her. Iris clung to Rio's hand and stared up at the blond. She had been fantasizing about Nash coming and punching him until he was black and blue when Rio had come to get her, and she was still faintly hoping that her brother might materialize out of somewhere to save her.

"Miss Kastle," Kite started, "I am sorry for the way I treated you. Your sister has shown me that you are not to blame what happened to my brother. Will you accept my apology?" He said all this while standing rigidly straight and looking dead into Iris's eyes. Rio understood that he considered this a proper position, but didn't he realize that Iris was still a child? Was it that hard to soften up a bit? Orbital sat next to him, his bicolored eyes glowing in the dim light, which didn't help.

Iris was thinking over Kite's apology. "Does this mean I can play with Hart?" she asked.

"Yes." Kite had trouble forcing the word out, but he said it.

"Then yes, I accept your apology." Iris waved to Hart, who waved back, a faint trace of a smile on his lips.

Rio sat with Tori on bench around the corner from where Iris and Hart were playing together. They were eavesdropping, though Rio preferred to use the term "protecting." She was going to make sure this afternoon's scene didn't repeat itself.

"Sorry about Kite," Hart said suddenly. "He's always been protective of me, but he's not that bad once you get to know him. Neither is Orbital. He's just protective of us, too. Once he knows that Kite's okay with you, he's just a big puppy."

"Really?" Iris asked, and Rio heard her giggle.

That night, as she lay next to Iris's sleeping form, she thought about everything she had observed about the Tenjos. She had been sure, when she had first fled her home country, that Tenjo had been the invaders. But Kite's attitude had cast doubt upon this theory. Why would he be so angry at Rio and Iris if it had been his country that had attacked hers? Wouldn't he feel as though he had had his revenge? Wouldn't he have been more smug and haughty around the sisters, instead of hateful? Unless of course, he didn't _know_ about the attack, but somehow Rio doubted that. Kite seemed the time to always be aware what was going on around him, like Quinton was.

If neither Tsukamo, Arclight, nor Tenjo had attached the United Lands, who had? Who was her _true_ enemy?

 **Next time on** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves:**_ **Shark returns to the fields, much to everyone's surprise, and shows Marya a well-kept secret.**


	12. The Hiding Place

Ray Shadows hurried down the steps to the dungeon as fast as he dared carrying a pitcher of water and two loaves of bread. He was excited to see Shark this morning; he had written the scene where the great Ray Shadows and the mysterious Shark met, and he wanted to read to his friend. When he arrived at Shark's cell, however, he was startled to see that it was empty.

 _No! They've taken him back to the fields! And I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye!_

Ray placed the pitcher of water on the ground by the cell and hurried out to the courtyard, hoping that perhaps they hadn't left yet. He dodged by soldiers, slaves, horses, and carts, searching desperately for a glimpse of purple hair. He had almost given up hope when he saw him, standing by a wagon that was getting to leave the compound.

As Ray approached him, he marveled at how different Shark looked, out here in the light, rather than in the dimness of a jail cell. It wasn't just the light, either. Shark looked radically different than he had when first brought to the dungeon almost a month before. He was slightly paler, his tan having dulled, and he was upright and alert rather than slumped over with heatstroke. His arms were tied behind him, though not very tightly, for which he was grateful. Shark's clothes were also different. Ray had given him a set of servant's garments, dark brown, with hardly any rips or tears. The trousers also came with an intricately woven belt, which he wore hidden beneath the baggy tunic. On his feet, though, was the real prize. A pair of leather sandals, still designed in the Astranian style, but much more comfortable and luxurious than his old, itchy grass ones.

"Shark!" Surprised, the purplette turned to see Ray hurrying towards him. "You're going back to the field, Shark?" Ray asked when he reached him.

"Yeah." Shark managed a small smile, though his eyes looked tired. "Thanks again, Ray, for everything. I'll pay you back somehow. Someday." Ray nodded. To insist that it wasn't necessary was not considered polite. In Baria, no one just accepted charity. Even if they never paid it back, it was proper to assure their benefactor that they appreciated what had been given them. To just take it was very rude.

Ray was struck with a sudden inspiration. "I'll come and visit you sometime, Shark," he said eagerly. "I'll get an assignment that brings me out to the fields. Third sugarcane right?"

Shark stared at him. Was he serious? "I'd like that, Ray, but, well… well, we shouldn't hope for too much."

Ray shrugged. "Maybe not, but…here, take these," he said, pushing the two loaves of bread he was still carrying down the front of Shark's shirt. "You might need them later." At that moment, the wagon had started moving down the road, and Shark had been yanked after it, curtesy of his bound hands.

"Goodbye, Shark! I'll miss you!" Ray called after him, drawing strange looks from the people around him. He didn't care. Shark was the only friend he'd had in the world, and now he had lost him. He sighed. This was nothing new to Ray Shadows. He always seemed to be in constant danger of losing things that were important to him.

Suddenly, there was a great commotion in the compound. Standing on tiptoe to see above the crowd, Ray saw a familiar woman, tall with long, green hair, looking around frantically and calling out for her quarry. It was Kiilee, his partner in this scheme.

"Lord Vector! Where are you, Lord Vector? Master, please-"

"What's the matter with you woman? If the Prince was here, don't you think we'd know?"

Ray hurried to the slave's assistance. "I'm here, Kiilee, I'm here. What's the matter?" She wouldn't have just brazenly blown his cover if there wasn't something wrong. Around him, people were gasping and falling to their knees. Prince Vector ignored them. He was used to such reactions around him.

"It's your father," Kiilee said when she had caught her breathe. "He's looking for you."

Cold fear seeped into Vector's soul. _Oh, no._

* * *

The days had been cold and grey since Shark was taken away. Marya struggled to do her daily work and just managed, but now that it was harvest season, she didn't thinks she would be able to keep up. She hadn't seen Weasel since that fateful day. She knew he blamed himself for what had happened. But Marya knew it was really her fault.

It was dark; it was always dark when the slaves were herded back into Barracks 17 now. Marya trudged through the mud, dropping off her shovel (the one she sued for the most difficult weeds) in the large canvas sack they were kept in, and lined up for evening roll call. Since Shark had been removed, there were now once again fifty slaves in Barracks 17.

Wolfsbane walked up and down the rows of slaves, almost strutting like a turkey. He was glad Shark was gone, as were many other guards who resented the fact that they couldn't flog him to death. Shark had always gotten away with more than any other slave, like the fact that he had a partner in his work.

"48…49…50." Marya was number 50, and as always, Wolfsbane looked her up and down suspiciously. Marya held her breath and prayed that he wouldn't suddenly realize she was a girl. Her hair had begun to grow out again, and she had taken to making it as dirty as possible to hide the feminine look it gave her.

Wolfsbane was about to give the order to get everyone inside, when there came the sound of a horse's whinny and the creak of wagon wheels. Almost simultaneously, everyone turned their heads to look. A wagon at this time and season was extremely unusual. As it came closer, Marya's breath caught in her throat. Was that… A flash of purple caught her eye and she strained to get a better look. It was! It was Shark! Only he looked…. So much better! Healthier, stronger, and… handsomer? Marya wondered where that had come from.

"Whoa, whoa," called out the driver of the cart. He swung down from his seat and came over to where Wolfsbane stood, openmouthed in astonishment. "This here Barracks 17?" the man asked, shifting something in his mouth to the other mouth.

"It is," Wolfsbane said, recovering his composure. "What is your business here?"

The driver jerked his head towards the back of his cart. "Delivery," he said.

"We're not expecting anything."

"Slave by the name of Shark. He's being returned."

"Returned?" Marya had to stifle a laugh at the look on Wolfsbane's face.

"Yep. He's all better, able to do a full day's work again." By this time, one of the guards in the back of the wagon had untied Shark from the wagon and was bringing him around to the front, showing Wolfsbane that yes, indeed, Shark was back. Marya could barely refrain from rushing her friend and tackling him to the ground.

"But we don't need him here," Wolfsbane said.

"I don't take messages. I only deliver. If you want him moved somewhere else, you'll have to take it up with your boss. Have a good evening." The guard had untied Shark's hands and climbed back into the wagon; now the driver did likewise, grabbing the reins as he did so. He clucked to his horse, and the wagon pulled away, leaving Wolfsbane to deal with Shark.

"Hello, my Lord," Shark greeted him, rubbing his wrists to get the blood flowing again. "Did you miss me?"

By this point, Wolfsbane was a strange shade of purple and at a loss for words. Finally he barked out, "Shark! You're breaking the rules. Get in line, you worthless runt! And not another word out of you, or I'll have you horsewhipped at dawn!" Shark quickly got in line, though he was grinning widely. "What are you all staring at?" Wolfsbane yelled. "Into the Barracks, all of you!"

The slaves hastened to do so, but Marya was sure to grab Shark's hand before they were pushed through the narrow doorway. Only when the two of them were lying side by side, their ankles chained together, did Marya feel safe to speak. "Shark! You're alive! I thought for sure they would kill you!"

"Well, they didn't. Sorry to disappoint you, Tiger."

"No! No, I'm glad you're back. I've been miserable without you." Marya knew better than to ask why they hadn't killed him. She had learned long ago that Shark never answered any questions about why he was so mysterious directly.

"Glad to know I'm wanted. By the way, I have something for you." Shifting around a bit, Shark managed to prop himself up and reach into his tunic, where Ray had hidden the two loaves of bread that morning. "Here. Freshly baked today."

Marya took the bread in amazement. "Where did you get this?" Freshly baked bread was as rare as gold for the slaves.

"A friend gave it to me."

"Weasel?"

"No, a new friend."

"Oh." Marya contemplated asking him more questions, but doubted she'd get answers. Besides, the fact still remained that she was holding two loaves of freshly baked bread. How long had it been since she had enjoyed such luxury? "Since there's two loaves, we can each eat one," she decided, trying to hand one of them back to him.

"No, you eat both of them. I don't need one."

"Shark! That Exactly the kind of attitude that got you taken away in the first place! Now you take this bread and you _eat_ it."

"Okay, okay," Shark did as he was told, though it was obvious he was trying hard not to laugh. They lay there quietly, slowly chewing each bite of their treat. When Marya was about halfway through hers, she said, "I think we should save some for tomorrow. It will give us something to look forward to."

"That's a good idea," Shark said thoughtfully. "But where would we put it? We can't keep it on us, and if we leave it lying around here, the rats will get it."

"I forgot about that." Marya felt silly now, suggesting the idea.

"Don't look so down," Shark told her. "I have a hiding place."

She stared at him. "You- you!" Shark did laugh this time.

"Still glad I'm back?" She punched him in the shoulder. "Hey!"

"Yes. I'm glad you're back, so I can keep an eye on you. Nothing you can do can change that. So, what's in this hiding place of yours?" Marya wasn't really expecting an answer, so it came as no small surprise when she got one.

"Valuables." Shark rolled over onto his stomach, chains clanking as he did so. "When they built Barracks 17," he said beginning to feel along the wall at their heads, "There was a mix-up about how much wood was needed. When they had finished building, there was still enough wood left over to build another wall. No one dared send it back and accuse the Emperor's suppliers of flawed calculations, so they built another wall on top of this one. Ah, here it is." Shark tugged at a discreet crack in the inner wall, and to Marya's astonishment, a piece of it came off in his hands. There, right by their heads, was a small hollow space with a shelf, made from a stabilizing beam, running through it. On the shelf was something wrapped in a scrap of cloth. Pushing it to one side, Shark placed the remaining bread on the shelf next to it. Then, carefully, he withdrew the small bundle from the hiding place and unwrapped it, holding it so Marya could see. Lying in his palm was a black cord, on which hung a silver shark's tooth, gleaming in the darkness. Marya lay still and waited for Shark to speak.

"My parents gave this to me on my eighth birthday. It was shortly after that they…died." He swallowed hard before continuing. "It's made of platinum. That's why I've had to hide it." Platinum, Marya knew, was a rare metal, far more valuable than gold or silver. Any guard, except maybe Weasel, would have snatched it. She had never imagined that she would get to see something so valuable up close.

"What about the stone in the middle?" She asked. "That's not a real sapphire, is it?"

"It is. But it's not the metal or the jewel that really makes this valuable, Marya." Slowly, Shark pulled the shark's tooth out from the cord and opened it. Inside the locket were two locks of hair: one blue and one green. "These are from my sisters," Shark said. "It took me a while to decide what I wanted to put in here. When I finally decided this was what I wanted, it took me even longer to convince them to indulge me." His voice cracked. "And now it's all I have left of them. Well, besides this." He held up his right hand, showing off the plain, silver band on his ring finger. "This marks me as a twin, so it's a reminder of one of my sisters."

Marya had never thought much about that ring. Lots of slaves had plain earrings or rings that no one looked twice at. "Is that made of platinum, too?" If it was, Shark came from a very wealthy family. Most twin markings were identical strings of hand-painted beads, with a specific pattern of colors, or a lock of hair dyed the same way.

"Yes. My twin sister… has one just like it. We promised each other, a long time ago, that we would never take them off. Now-" Shark was too choked up to continue. It was the first time Marya had ever seen him cry. But she was no stranger to the grief of losing a sibling. She, too, had lost a sister in this ordeal. And so she held him, letting him cry out all his sorrows, until they both fell asleep.

 **Next time on** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves:**_ **Rio is getting fed up.**


	13. Rio's Frustration

Rio Kastle was unlike any other girl in all of Arclight- in all of Heartland, perhaps. Here she was, a slave, a foreigner, a _female,_ and she was as bold as though she was a son of the king herself. She was courageous. Prince Thomas was smitten with her, the younger servants said. King Byron loved her like a daughter, because she reminded him of his beloved Rosetta, the older servants said. That she was like an older sister to young Michael was something everyone agreed on. Since he had never had a feminine influence, with no mother or sisters, many people remarked at how fortunate this was.

Tori admired her new friend for her boldness. Bronk thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Yuma liked her because he made an effort to like everybody. Now even Kite respected her for her clear thinking and knowledge. Knowledge that she had gained from the finest tutors, hired by her father, the leader of the Seven Barian Emperors.

Iris was happy because she had two friends- Trey and Hart- who gave her almost undivided attention. And Orbital had, indeed, turned out to be just a big puppy, once he was sure that Iris meant Hart no harm.

Despite all this, Rio wasn't happy. She was restless and exasperated. Every day was the same old routine: wake up, get ready, morning chores, dinner (The Heartlanders' lunch), afternoon chores, free time, socializing, supper (the Barians' dinner), teaching Iris about their home, bed. She felt stuck in a never-ending cycle. She wanted to escape, to make it back to Baria and find her brother. She wanted to find out who was responsible for attacking her home, who was behind the loss of everything she had held dear. None of the major Heartlandish countries seemed to be guilty. Surely it was not the Southern Isles. They would not possibly have raised an army large enough to stand against the United Lands. Animalia, then? Animalia was a young country, a group of clans only recently united and liberated under one Queen. What would they have to gain by attacking a Barian country? And if it was not a Heartlandish country, who was it? An outside force who was in search of a colony? Or was it, as Rio most greatly feared, a Barian country that had decided to betray the Treaty of the Seven Emperors? If so, why? So many questions and so few answers! She was going to go mad if something didn't change soon.

Rio was once again tackling the task of dusting the library while trying to puzzle all these things out. She had been given permission to read any book she pleased during her free time, but as she could only read Heartlandish, this limited her choices considerably. Most of the Heartlandish books she found were encyclopedias. She could speak Arclightian fairly well now, having lived in the country over a year, but she couldn't read it. Yet another frustration to add to her list. Instead of reading, she would often take a look through the telescope when she was finished her chores, since the sun went down so much earlier. It was now autumn again, and the leaves had turned beautiful colors. There was also a plentiful supply of fresh apples, a fruit that Rio had only sampled after arriving at Arclight and decided that she liked quite well. These things were nice, but it wasn't the same as being at home.

Although she was nowhere near the ocean, Rio knew that the waters had become turbulent early this year, because both the Tenjos and the Tsukamos were going to be stranded there until spring. This meant that Kari and Quinton would be spending more time together, but Rio didn't think they minded too much. They were not quite infatuated with each other, but they did enjoy spending time together. Rio thought they were a good match; he was patient and thoughtful, and she was impatient and hot-tempered. She could liven him up, and he could tone her down. Any Barian matchmaker would have considered this ideal, if the two young people had enough interests in common. Quinton and Kari were both lovers of knowledge. Of course, they did argue, like normal couples. Rio had once overhead them debating about who was worse o deal with: Quattro or Yuma.

In Baria, the two could have been married now, because Kari had reached the age of thirteen. Here, though, they couldn't be married until she was seventeen. Of course, they _could_ decide to be betrothed before then, and that's what everyone was hoping for. Of course, Rio was very fond of Quinton and hoped it would all work out in his favor, but the hoped-for betrothal was just one more thing to remind her that time was slipping away. Important things were in the making here in Heartland, thing that could affect her country. She needed to get back there!

In frustration, she kicked the ladder she was using to reach the higher shelves, and of course it fell to the floor with a loud clatter, and she spent the next few minutes trying to get it back up into a standing position. By the time she had succeeded, she was covered in sweat, her hair was sticking to her forehead, she was breathing heavily, and someone was watching her.

"Wow. I think you just broke a record: the longest fight with a step ladder."

"What do you want, Quattro? Can't you see I'm busy cleaning your library?"

Startled and hurt by her biting words, Quattro took a step back. "Sorry," he muttered. "Guess I'll leave you to it."

"Quattro, wait! I'm sorry I yelled at you. It's just…I'm so tired." She collapsed onto a sofa and rested her head on the arm. "I'm so tired."

Quattro came over and sat down next to her. "Have they been assigning you extra chores? I can talk to my Dad about it if you like," he offered.

"Thank you, but it's not that. I- I miss my home. I want to go back."

"You aren't happy here?"

"To be perfectly honest, no. Your palace is lovely, and you and your family have been so good to us, but… it's not _home._ "

"Oh. And… you miss your brother, too, don't you?"

"Yes." She was quiet for a moment. "Quattro, we're friends, aren't we?" When he nodded, she continued, "Can I trust you to keep a secret? Even from your father and brothers?"

"Of course you can, Rio. I've kept the secret about your twin brother, haven't I?"

"Yes, and I'm grateful, but this is bigger than that." She took a deep breath. "My siblings and I didn't get into that rowboat because we wanted to find a better life. We got into it because we were running away from something. Our home- the United Lands of the Pacific Ocean- was attacked in the middle of the night. Our parents were killed by the invaders."

Quattro was unsure of what to say, "I'm…I'm sorry, Rio. I had no idea. I-"

"There's more," she interrupted him. "My brother…ran in the other direction, to lead the invaders away from Iris and me. I still don't know what became of him."

The two children were silent for a long time. Finally, Quattro asked the question he most wanted to. "Do you know who it was who attacked your country?"

"No," Rio said quietly. "For the longest time I thought it was Tenjo."

"Kite's attitude probably didn't make you less suspicious."

"Actually it did. Why would Kite have been so hateful towards Iris and me, if his country had made an attack on mine? Wouldn't he have been more smug and gloating? And, do you think Lord Faker would have believed my story if he had ordered such an attack? Besides, wouldn't your father and Emperor Kazuma have known?"

"Yeah. I guess they would have. But if it wasn't us, the Tsukamos, or the Tenjos, then… who was it? Another Barian country?

"Oh I hope not! That means that the treaty of the Seven Emperors was violated! It could mean that the Barian Empire will fall into war."

"But you're here, safe with us."

"But I won't be forever!" She got up and went to the window, the one that faced west. "Someday I will return to my people. You heard what your father said. When I'm eighteen, he will give me supplies to travel anywhere I want to go. I will go back to Baria."

"None of our ships go to Baria. How will you get there?"

"I must get back home! My brother needs me! I must help him! I will _swim_ back if I have to!"

Quattro looked horrified. "Swim in the ocean? But it's so dirty."

Rio turned on him. "The ocean is sacred to my people! My brother and I were blessed with a special connection to it! Do not speak of it as _dirty!_ You could be stoned for such talk in my home, if you said it in front of the right people."

"I- I'm sorry. Do want to see it again?"

"See what again?"

"The ocean! I mean, ours is the same as yours, isn't it? It's just the opposite side."

Rio ran back to him and grasped his hand, her eyes full of hope. "Do you really think we could go? It would mean so much to me, and to Iris, to walk on a beach again! To walk into the water again! Oh, Quattro, can you really arrange it?"

"Sure I can!" His cocky grin was back. "You just leave it to me."

Laughing with delight, Rio sat back down next to him, much more closely than she had before. Soon, however, she had become sullen again. "But what am I going to do in the mean time? If I have to keep up this routine much longer, I'm going to lose my mind!"

Quattro thought for a moment. "I've noticed you like looking at the books we have here in the library."

"Yeah, but I can't read most of them. I've only just managed to start using Arclightian in conversations; I can't read a word of it."

"Then that's what we'll do. Whenever I get restless, my father tells me I have to have something to focus my mind on. You've learned how to speak our language, so now I'll teach how to read and write it."

"I don't think I have time for reading and writing lessons."

"We'll make time. I can talk Dad into giving you more free time. I can teach Iris, too."

"Oh, Quattro, I'm so glad that I have a friend like you in this foreign land." She smiled up at him, because on the couch, lying as she was, he was a full head taller. "I think my brother would have liked you," she said quietly. "You remind me of him sometimes."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

 **Next time on** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves:**_ **Another familiar face enters the scene…a very mountainous scene.**


	14. A Friendship in the Making

Mizar's sharp blue eyes peered into the darkness that shrouded the path that winded up the mountain to the caves that sheltered his clan. Though he was only ten years old, Mizar had been trusted to take the watch for the first part of the moon's cycle. Of course, Jinlon was nearby. He was always nearby, in his human form, whenever Mizar was on a mission. He could turn into his dragon form quick as lightning and scare off anyone who meant the boy any harm. Not that Mizar was helpless- he was extremely capable, despite his age, and that was why he had been given this post.

Security had tightened in the Tachyon Mountains extensively ever since Chief Somatun had returned with the news that the Astranians had betrayed the alliance of the Emperors. The Tachyon mountains were named for the legendary Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon that lived somewhere in the caves too high for humans to reach. It was more powerful than any of the other dragons that lived in the mountains. The dragons had been all over Baria before the humans got there, but because the humans killed the dragons out of fear, now they lived only in the Tachyon Mountains. The Galaxy-Eyes was so powerful that the humans didn't dare enter its domain, and the surviving dragons had fled there for protection.

However, one day, Tachyon Dragon had made an alliance with a human it found worthy. Soon, dragons and humans found the value of working together, and other alliances formed. Certain people were allowed to settle in the mountains. Chief Somatun's tribe was one of these. His ancestor had made an alliance with a dragon and had moved his family into the mountains to live. They had grown and prospered there, along with the several other families that grew into tribes or clans.

Mizar did not belong to any of the long-settles clans that inhabited the mountains. When he had been very young, Jinlon had seen potential in him, and had brought him here to train him in the ways of the Dragon Masters. Mizar was an orphan, and Jinlon was the only family he had ever had.

Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps on the stone path, and Mizar's muscles tensed in readiness. With his expert hearing, he picked up the sound of Jinlon shifting as well. The footsteps grew closer and closer, until a boy with gray hair came into Mizar's view. He was short, as well as very pale and thin. He also appeared to be wet and shivering, which didn't make sense, considering it was the dry season and rain hadn't come in almost a moon.

The sight of this pathetic boy might have made others let their guard down, but Mizar was suspicious by nature, and the next thing the stranger was aware of was the flash of metal and a sword, seemingly have appeared out of nowhere, was at his throat. "Stand still, stranger, or the next move you make could very well be your last!" The boy froze; his eyes wide with terror. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Please," he said hoarsely, "My name is Dumon. I'm looking for Chief Somatun. He knew my father. I was hoping that-"

"Who is your father?"

"My father was Stalminus, one of the Seven Barian Emperors and Chief Knight of Drachelm's Table."

"Was? You mean to say another of the Seven Emperors is dead?"

"Yes."

"By whose hand?"

"Domitian's, the Emperor of Astrania." Mizar let out a growl of anger. So, the Astranian traitor had committed yet another act of treason.

"How do I know you aren't lying to me?" There was the sound of wood hitting rock, and Jinlon appeared, leaning heavily on his staff, though this was just a façade to fool his enemies. Jinlon was quite capable of walking and running without any assistance. Though he resembled an old man, he was in fact an ageless Dragon.

"Mizar, this boy is no threat to us. Look at him. He is probably another refugee, like so many that have come to us seeking shelter. Come, my boy, we will take care of you." Jinlon gestured for Dumon to follow him, but the boy hung back.

"Please, my horse is down at the base of the mountain. He's hurt; he needs help."

"We'll send someone to help your horse, but right now you need to come inside with us." This time, Jinlon gripped Dumon's arm firmly at the elbow and led him towards the hidden entrance to the system of caves that housed Chief Somatun's tribe. It was the largest system of caves and tunnels in all of the Mountains, because Chief Somatun was the one who represented them on the Imperial Council. Mizar sheathed his sword and followed, confident now that Dumon was who he claimed to be. Jinlon had sensed no deception in the boy, and Dragons were much better at detecting human lies than humans were.

They brought Dumon into the largest cavern; the one used for meetings of the whole tribe, and set him down on the long bench along the back of the room. They wrapped him in a thick blanket and gave him some hot chocolate, a drink imported from Sparta. Chocolate was one of the few things Spartans made other than champions for the arena. Mizar found their whole system disgusting.

"Send for Chief Somatun," Jinlon instructed. "This boy had news for him." Then he turned to his apprentice. "Mizar, take a search party and look for Dumon's horse. Take medical supplies; we don't know how serious the injuries might be." Mizar nodded an quickly went to obey the instructions.

It wasn't hard to find Dumon's horse. It was very surprising, however, to find that Dumon's horse wasn't a "horse" at all. It was a Pegasus. Mizar had heard that Drachelm was still inhabited by these flying equestrians, but he had never imagined that he would see one for himself. The Pegasus's leg had sustained a deep cut, but fortunately the blood had clotted and there didn't seem to be a danger of it dying from blood loss. The rescue party bandaged it as best they could, and then, with two of them on each side of it, the Pegasus managed to get to his feet and begin the trek up the mountain.

Mizar was no expert with horses, but he would guess that this one was considerably young- perhaps not even fully grown. But it was plenty heavy. Several times, it almost toppled over, and it was all the two people on the leaning side could do to straighten it out. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally managed to get it into the caves.

The meeting room had changed considerably while Mizar and his companions had been out on their venture. Chief Somatun was in council with his advisors; the news of Stalminus's death was a very concerning development. Several people were attending to Dumon, trying to get him out of his wet clothes and into some dry ones.

The Pegasus perked up immediately when he saw Dumon across the room. He made a neighing sound that could have been concerned, if Mizar was hearing it properly.

"Mach!" Dumon called to his friend. Mach whinnied to him and limped over, abstaining from using his injured leg. "Mach, I'm glad you're okay." The Pegasus looked Dumon all over with his nose and nickered his agreement. Just from watching them, Mizar knew that they had a special bond, like he and Dragluon did.

Now that his Pegasus was with him, Dumon relaxed considerably. Soon, his eyelids closed and he drifted off to sleep, covered in warm blankets and furs. Mach stayed near him, watching him sleep, while his leg was tended more thoroughly. A poultice was applied, as well as more bandages.

"There," the healer said. "It should be right as rein in several suns."

"Mizar," Jinlon whispered to his student, having noticed that the boy had been watching the entire procedure. "I'm going to meet with the other Dragons and tell them about what has happened. Can you stay with Dumon and keep an eye on him?"

"Of course," Mizar said, straightening his shoulders. He was a little tired, but keeping watch over Stalminus's son was more important. He walked over and sat down next to the sleeping form, glancing at Mach to see if the animal objected to his sitting so close. The Pegasus snorted, but that was all.

For a while, all was peaceful as Dumon slept and both Mizar and Mach kept an eye on him. It was in the early morning, before the sun rose, that Mach began to shift uneasily. He bent his nose and sniffed Dumon, whinnying in concern. He shifted a bit and did it again. Mizar stared at him. He had no idea what this horse body language meant.

He soon found out. Dumon began shifting in his sleep, and soon he was moaning and shivering. "Kinjuigdui!" Mizar called to the healer. "There's something wrong with him!"

Kinjuigdui rushed over and pressed his hand against Dumon's forehead. "He's burning up," he murmured. "I'm not surprised. He told us he fell into a lake this morning. He didn't have a change of clothes, having sold them for food, and then to travel all that distance, here into the mountains, where the winds are so cold…" The healer examined the boy some more and then said, "We need to get him into his own room and cover him up, to see if he'll sweat the fever out." Kinjuigdui lifted the boy in his arms. "He's so light," he whispered in alarm. Mach neighed in concern.

Mizar wasn't sure how it happened, but he ended up being the one who mostly cared for Dumon. He sat by his side during all of the sun's shifts, wiping his forehead with a wet cloth. Sometimes the boy shivered, and other times he burned like fire. Kinjuigdui treated him like he treated all those who suffered from fever. First he bathed the boy in freezing cold water, and then he placed him in a steam room. This treatment brought the fever down, but Dumon still tossed and turned and cried out in delirium.

He always cried for his father, Mach, or for people named Nash, Marin, and Iris. Most of the time he cried for Nash. Mizar had no idea who Nash was, so he couldn't do much for the boy. He would doze off, and then be startled awake by Dumon's cries. 

"Nash! Nash! Why did they do it? How could they? Nash!" One time Mizar came into the room and saw the boy sitting up in bed, his eyes wild and his skin almost white, reaching out and calling to Nash.

This went on for almost two moons. Mizar was exhausted, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He hadn't gone out on patrol with Dragluon in what felt like ages. Kinjuigdui tried his freezing bath and steam room treatment twice more, whenever the fever went up, and it did bring it down, but it couldn't break it completely.

The morning after the healer tried the treatment for the fourth time, Mizar came into the room and was shocked to see Dumon lying very still. He hadn't seen the boy so calm since the night he had fallen asleep in the great cavern. In fact, he looked more than calm; he was…peaceful. Very peaceful. Was he even breathing? Panicked, Mizar turned and fled the room.

"Kinjuigdui! Kinjuigdui!"

"For goodness sakes, Mizar, what is it?"

"It- it's Dumon. I think…I think he might be dead."

"What?" The healer followed Mizar back to Dumon's room and hurried to the boy's side. He pressed his hand against his forehead and then gripped his wrist to check his pulse. "No," he whispered, shaking his head, "No."

Mizar squeezed his eyes shut. He had barely known Dumon, but still he didn't want him to be dead. But to his very great surprise, the next thing he heard was Kinjuigdui laughing. "No, Mizar; his skin is damp because the fever's broken. He is breathing easily now and has fallen into a deep sleep. It's the best thing for him. He's not dead, Mizar; I think he's on the way to recovery."

With Dumon's illness having been cured, Mizar went back to his normal schedule. After he got a very good night's sleep. The next morning he was back on patrol duty with Dragluon, soaring above the highest mountain's peak, looking for any sign of danger.

"What I can't understand is why he kept calling for this Nash person. I mean, he called out for his father and Mach a few times, but he called for Nash a lot more. Why didn't he call for his father the most? I mean, wasn't Emperor Stalminus the person closest to him in the world?"

"Perhaps Dumon has already come to grips with the fact that his father is dead. He knows how and why Stalminus died; he grieves but he does not see it as something unfathomable. What did you say he cried out when he called for Nash?"

Mizar thought for a moment. "Why did they do it? How could they?" he repeated Dumon's words.

"Such questions would make me think that Dumon is troubled because he doesn't know why Nash had to suffer whatever fate befell him," Dragluon said. "It is unfathomable to him, and so he cannot be at peace about it."

Mizar pondered this theory until Dragluon dove downward, back towards the caves. When he touched ground, Mizar was surprised to see Kinjuigdui waiting for them.

"Mizar, can I see you a moment?" the healer asked once Dragluon had turned back into Jinlon.

"Of course."

"I have been talking to Dumon, telling him about all that has been going on while he was unconscious. I told him how much care you gave him, and he would like to meet you face to face."

"Oh."

"Will you come?" Mizar was about to ask _do I have to w_ hen he saw the look in Jinlon's eyes. They said _you'll do it because it'll be good for you._ Sighing, he nodded and followed Kinjuigdui to the room where Dumon had been moved to recuperate.

When he entered, the gray-haired boy was sitting up, propped up on several pillows, and eating some thick stew. He looked up and smiled when Mizar entered. "Hi! You must be Mizar. They told me that you took care of me while I was sick."

"Yeah."

Dumon's face clouded in confusion. "Your voice is familiar. Did we meet before I lost consciousness?"

"Um, sort of."

Mizar hoped Dumon wouldn't remember all the details of their first meeting, but after thinking hard about it, he said, "You were the one who questioned me at sword point."

"Yeah." _This conversation just got so much more awkward._

"That's okay," Dumon said. "I would have been just as suspicious if I was keeping guard outside my kingdom. And anyway, you did take care of me, so thanks a lot."

"Your welcome." Mizar hesitated. He wanted to ask Dumon about Nash, but he didn't want to pry, either.

"Did you want to ask me something?"

 _Good, grief, this kid was perceptive._ "Um…while you were unconscious, you kept calling out for someone named Nash. I was wondering-" He stopped. Dumon's face was clouded and it looked like he was about to cry. _Great job, Mizar._ Dealing with people had never been his strong point. He had always been much better with dragons. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's okay." Dumon drew the back of his hand across his eyes. "I really should talk about it with someone." Seeing that this was going to be a long story, Mizar pulled up a chair and sat down. Dumon took a deep breath and began. "Nash was my best friend. He was son of Emperor Ralphenom. Whenever there was a meeting of the Seven Barian Emperors, my father would bring me along, and I would spend time with Nash and his sister, Marin. We grew very close. I was there when Empress Toria had Princess Iris. But, when Domitian attacked the United Lands…" He stopped to swallow back some sobs. "The Astranians always kill every member of the royal family in a land they conquer. Nash was murdered by Domitian. He'd never done anything to him! He was just killed because of who his father was! And Marin and Iris too! Iris was only four years old! What could they possibly have done to him?"

This time he couldn't stop the flow of tears. Mizar looked frantically around and finally found a rag that looked fairly clean, which he shoved in Dumon's face. Now Dragluon's explanation made sense.

"Life is hardly ever fair," Mizar said. "I learned that a long time ago."

"What happened to your family and friends?"

"Well… I've never told this to anyone except Jinlon, but since you answered my question, I'll answer yours. I'm not from around here. I actually don't know where I come from, exactly. Beyond these mountains is as specific as I can get. From the time I was very young, though, I knew that people were at war with each other. We were always in danger. We were always trying to get away from or destroy our enemies. One time, just one time, they got the better of us, and my parents were taken away as captives. I barely remember anything about them." Mizar paused in his story, looking around the room for the courage to continue.

"I ran for my life. I soon found myself in the middle of a desert. I wandered for a long time, eventually collapsing from exhaustion. It was then that Dragluon found me."

"Dragluon?"

"My dragon. He found me and brought me here. He cared for me until I was better, then adopted me as his own. I've learned everything I know from him. As a result, I feel more comfortable around dragons than I do round people."

"Really?" Dumon looked excited. "It's the same way with me and horses, or Pegasuses. I always seem to understand them better than people." The two boys sat in silence for a while, neither of them having much to say. Then, tired of the silence, Dumon said, "Nash was good with horses too. He had a black colt named Black Ray Lancer. We called him Lancer for short. His first owners thought he was loco, not worth anything. But Nash climbed right into his corral, talking to him softly, and tamed him. Well, sort of," Dumon managed a laugh. "Lancer was still a bit…frisky. He threw Nash one time, and he broke his leg. But Lancer was sorry about it. He stayed with Nash until the rescue party got there."

"Dragluon would have done the same thing," Mizar mused. Dragons and horses were very different from each other, but it appeared that they were both very loyal to those who were loyal to them.

"How is Mach, by the way?" Dumon asked.

"His leg healed, and he's fine otherwise, other than wanting to see you, of course. At least, I think that's what he's been saying for the past two moons."

Dumon laughed. "Dragons and horses communicate very differently, I take it."

Mizar laughed with him. "Yeah."

 **Next time on** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves:**_ **Prince Vector asks for something special for his ninth birthday.**


	15. Birthday Present

Emperor Domitian walked down the stone halls of his palace, his cloak flowing out behind him. He had been stuck here taking care of annoying details for over three moons, and he was sick of it. He knew there were rumors floating around the city- rumors about raiding parties going to Heartland and the army marching to Sparta. He was going to execute whoever had started those rumors.

In reality, neither of them was completely accurate. The invasion of Sparta had not yet begun. Some people might be foolish enough to believe that he would leave the invasion in the hands of his generals, but Domitian wanted to lead the attack himself. And now, after three moons of securing his hold on the United Lands and Drachelm, he would finally be on the move again. Sparta would soon fall before him.

Then, of course, there was the "raiding party" that had already sailed to Heartland. The true purpose of this "raid" was to plant a few spies…and one con artist, to boot. They would begin to weaken Heartland so it would be that much easier for him to conquer it later. And of course, they would keep up the ruse of a raid, kidnapping slaves and stealing wealth. He needed slaves to do the work that was keeping well and able men from joining his army, and wealth to fund his conquest of both Empires. Domitian turned the corner at the end of the hall and came face to face with his wife.

"So, you're going?" she asked.

"Yes. Step out of my way, Vivian."

Empress Vivian looked at her husband with steady, glimmering violet eyes. Vivian and Domitian's marriage had been an arranged one, and as soon as she had given him an heir, she was told to just stay out of his way. He hated her for being elected to the Imperial Council, and she hated him for what he was doing, all the destruction laying in his wake. But she was powerless to stop any of it. She could, however, make sure he acted like a proper father.

"Your son is nine today. Nine rains ago I gave him to you. You held him then, and he has barely seen you at all since. Don't you want to drop in and wish him a happy birthday?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm busy right now," Domitian said impatiently.

"Humph. Too busy for your own son. How is he supposed to grow up like you if he barely knew you?" They both knew Vivian didn't want her son to grow up anything like Domitian, but they also knew that she wasn't going to let him go without speaking to the boy. Scowling, the Emperor turned around and marched back the way he'd come, this time turning down a side corridor and making his way to his son's room.

Crown Prince Vector was not the heir that Domitian had wanted. He was soft and weak. This was the main reason he wanted nothing to do with him. He and Vivian had tried several more times, but with no luck. It was one problem Domitian couldn't solve with violence, and so he avoided it. He just hoped that, as he grew older, Vector would begin to act more like a man.

When he entered the boy's room, he found him in bed with watery eyes and a red nose. Domitian couldn't help it. He let out a breath of disgust. Vector jerked, having just been alerted to his father's presence.

"Oh," he said hoarsely, forcing a smile. "Hi, Dad."

"Hello Vector. Your mother has insisted that I come down to see you since it is your birthday. Today you are nine, son. Happy Birthday and congratulations. Don't let it go to your head."

He turned to go, but was stopped with a look from his wife that said, _you can do better than that._ Sighing, he turned back to Vector. "What would you like for your birthday? Name it and I'll get it for you."

Vector stared at him. "Really?"

"Really. Now hurry up and choose something before I change my mind." _He'd better not ask for something stupid._

"Well…" Vector hesitated. He had an idea, but he wasn't sure how his parents would react. "There is… I mean, I was thinking about it, and a slave-"

"A slave?" Both his parents spoke at once.

"A slave, Vector?' Vivian looked as though she might faint.

"A slave, son?" Domitian was equally surprised. "Of course! Any slave you want, son, it's yours. This might teach you something about power; about dominion. Yes, a slave will be good for you. Did you have a specific one in mind?"

Encouraged, Vector plunged in. "Yes, there is. He's a field slave. I want him to come and work for me. His name is Shark, and he lives in Barracks 17." Vector fell silent when he saw the storm clouds on his father's face. "Dad?"

"No. Absolutely not."

"You promised him any slave he wanted," Vivian said smugly. Domitian whirled on her.

"Yes! And he can have any slave in the Empire except Shark!"

"Why is that? Are you keeping him for yourself? How interesting." The meaning of the words was lost on Vector, but Domitian understood. No one would dare challenge him face to face, but the rumor that he was reserving a boy slave for his own uses would spread like wildfire.

"Fine!" he spat. "I'll have a message sent to Wolfsbane. You can have Shark son, but you'd better remember this: You are his master. He is entirely in your power. Get used to it, try it out, and you may find that you enjoy complete domination." With that, Domitian swept out of the room.

As soon as he was gone, Vivian turned on her son. "A slave? Vector, why on earth would you want a _slave_?"

"I want a boy my own age to talk to! I want a friend." He turned towards a figure hidden in the shadows on the opposite side of the room. "A friend closer to my own age, Kiilee," he added hastily. "You don't mind do you?"

The green haired woman smiled. "Not at all, your highness."

 **Next time on** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves:**_ **Shark is forced to say his goodbyes.**


	16. Goodbyes

All 51 slaves in Barracks 17 were uneasy. It was early morning, and they were all lined up for roll call as usual, but this time there was something very unusual going on. Wolfsbane had been in the middle of counting when two soldiers had ridden up, very _official_ looking soldiers.

"Are you Wolfsbane, overseer of the Third Sugarcane Field?" One of them had called out.

"Yes."

"We have orders from the Emperor." The man had given Wolfsbane a message; the paper sealed with Emperor Domitian's signet ring- a message that he was no reading.

Tiger gripped Shark's hand tightly. Wolfsbane looked pleased- almost thrilled- and that couldn't mean anything good for them.

"You!" he said, turning and pointing to Weasel. Unaccustomed to being singled out, Weasel almost dropped his spear.

"Y-yes sir?"

"Bring your little friend Shark up here!" Tiger looked up at Shark, panicked. Weasel stared at Wolfsbane, open mouthed. "Don't play dumb! I know you slip him extra food and water and talk to him when you think no one's looking. Now bring him here!"

"It's alright," Shark whispered, trying to reassure his friend as they made their way forward. Tiger's stomach twisted itself into knots as he watched them go. What could those soldiers want with Weasel and Shark?

"This is Shark," Wolfsbane said, dragging him forward. "He's the one you want." The soldier reached for the purplette, but Shark quickly ducked away from him.

"What do you want from me?" he demanded.

Wolfsbane rolled his eyes and smirked down at the boy. "If you must know, the Emperor has decided to give you to his son, Crown Prince Vector, as a birthday present." Shame, indignation, and humiliation rose up inside Shark. Given as a _present,_ as though he were an object without thoughts or feelings, with no say at all in his fate… it was a painful reminder of what he was: a slave; in effect, a piece of property.

"You should be honored that you've been chosen to be the Prince's personal slave, Shark," Wolfsbane said smugly. He was clearly ecstatic that he would no longer have to deal with the arrogant brat whom he couldn't flog because he was the Emperor's personal property.

Shark knew better. Being given to Domitian's son wasn't meant as an honor; it was meant as degradation. Domitian meant to make him lose his self-worth. Well, it wouldn't work. "I'll be right with you," Shark said. "I want to say goodbye to my friends first."

The soldiers were shocked and were about to grab the insolent cur, but they hadn't noticed the significant look Shark had given the other slaves of Barracks 17. Before anyone could comprehend the situation, a fight had broken out over who should get more bunk space. It was just the distraction Shark needed to grab Tiger and pull him back into the Barracks.

"What's going on, Shark? What do they want?" Marya asked, her eyes wide with fear.

"I've been given away," Shark said bitterly. "I belong to Prince Vector now. HE wants me to be his personal slave."

"But…but you can't go!" Marya was panicked. "You just got back!" _And I can't lose you again._

"Six moons hardly qualifies as 'just.'" Shark looked around at the Barracks where he had lived for over one coming and going of the rains. He had never thought he would be nostalgic about the place, but he was sure that the time he had spent here was much more bearable than what he would live through as Prince Vector's maid.

Feeling as though her whole world was collapsing around her, Marya watched as Shark went to their secret hiding place and pulled out his locket, still wrapped in a scrap of rag. He unwrapped it and held it for a moment, tracing the shark's tooth that gleamed in the dim light. Finally shaking himself, as though reinforcing his resolve, Shark took out the two locks of hair concealed in the locket and wrapped them in the rag, which he then stuck into his sandal, making it look like padding. Then he solemnly presented the locket to Marya.

"I want you to have this," he said, pressing the small piece of platinum into her hand and closing her fingers over it. "To- to remember me by."

Marya clutched the locket and stood frozen with uncertainty. "I don't want something to remember you by!" She burst out suddenly. "I want you to stay here. Surely there must be some way for you to hide. You're smart Shark, there must be something-"

"Marya," Shark said gently, taking her by the shoulders. "We can't fight this. I can't explain all the reasons why, but the Emperor would come after me if I didn't go with his men today."

"But I can't lose you!" the girl wailed. "My sister Lanu is dead, and you're the closest thing I have to family! What will I do without you?"

"You'll survive," Shark said, looking into her eyes, her green eyes that had caught his attention so completely the first time they'd met. Marya gazed back at him, thinking that it'd been a while since she'd realized how blue his eyes were.

"I want a lock of your hair for this locket, if I'm going to keep it," Marya said, breaking the silence.

"We don't have anything to cut it with."

"I'm sure Weasel does."

Outside, the topic of the brawl had moved on from bunk space to whether size or age should determine how much food each slave got. The soldiers were having no luck breaking up the fight, and though all the guards had been ordered to get in the thick of things, Weasel had gotten out as fast as he could and now stood pressed up against the Barracks. Most of the slaves were bigger than him, anyway.

He was edging away from the flying fists when he heard a " _Psssst!_ " Startled, he looked around, wondering if he'd imagined it. " _Psssst! Weasel!_ " Apparently not. He now saw Tiger's head poking out from behind the Barracks' door, and he was beckoning to him.

"What is it, Tiger?" Weasel spoke in a whisper, not wanting to be overheard, though with all the yelling going on, eavesdropping would have been nearly impossible anyway.

"I need something to cut Shark's hair with." By this point, Weasel was used to the strange things that surrounded his friend Shark, so he didn't ask any questions as he pulled out a knife from his belt and handed it to Tiger.

"Thanks," he said before disappearing back into the Barracks.

It took a while for the hair cut to be over, since cutting hair is less than simple. Shark himself endured a great deal of pain; anyone who has ever had their hair cut with a knife will tell you that it feels more like having your hair yanked out. Marya was careful to work underneath the top layers of Shark's hair, and when she was finished, the cut wasn't visible.

"There," she said at last, stepping away from him. In her palm rested a small lock of purple hair. Suddenly she could no longer hold back her tears. She threw her arms around the boy she had come to love like a brother and sobbed. "I'll miss you. Ever since Lanu died, you've been the only family I have."

Shark awkwardly hugged her back. He had never been very good at emotions, and though he tried to tell himself that he should be able to open himself to Marya, he wasn't able to tell her that she was the only family he had had, too.

"Shark! Tiger!" Weasel shouted a warning. Quickly the two pulled away. Marya put the act of Tiger back on, hiding the shark's tooth locket and the lock of hair behind his back. Wolfsbane and the others had finally put down the riot, and it hadn't taken them long to realize that Shark was missing.

The royal soldiers roughly grabbed the boy and tied his hands behind his back, telling him that it would go ten times worse for him since he had resisted. Wolfsbane announced that every slave would be punished for their role in the attempted escape, but no one seemed to care. They had done it for one of their own. Tiger took the opportunity to put the lock of hair in the locket and hide it once again.

In all the commotion, Shark was able to give one last message to Weasel, the one who had been with him throughout this entire chapter of his captivity. _Take care of her._ As Shark was dragged off, Weasel could only stand there, stunned. Tiger was a girl?

Shark was thrown onto one of the soldier's horses and taken away, wondering what his new life would have in store for him.

 **Next time on** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves:**_ **Shark feels betrayed when he recognizes the face of his new master.**


	17. A Familair Face

The soldiers kicked their horses into a canter for the trip back to the palace, resulting in the most uncomfortable ride of Shark's young life. With his hands bound behind him, he had nothing to hold onto, so the motion constantly tipped him into uncomfortable positions. If it looked like he was going to slip off, the man behind him would yank him back into position by the collar or his hair.

The journey was much shorter on cantering horses than it was in a rickety wagon. The sun hadn't reached the highest point in the sky before the travelers had reached their destination. Shark was shoved off the horse and landed on his ankle, twisting it sharply.

"Shut up!" One of the guards yelled when he cried out, kicking him in the side. Shark gasped but refrained from crying out. It had been a while since he'd been treated so roughly. The other guard pulled him to his feet while his companion headed for the servants' entrance nearby. "Delivery for Crown Prince Vector!" He announced, banging on the door.

Almost immediately, a tall, slender, pasty pale woman with long green hair appeared. She kept her eyes lowered as she hurried to take Shark from the second guard. "Thank you, my Lords. Lord Vector is grateful for your services."

"Get back to your work, slave woman, or I'll have you whipped!" The woman just nodded before pulling Shark into the dark doorway behind her and closing the door.

The passageway was made of stone and lit with several torches, but it was still very dim. Shark wondered how they could stand living in such darkness. In the palace he had grown up in, there had always been wide, open windows providing plenty of light. He would go mad if he had to spend all his time in damp, dim stone corridors and room.

"So," the woman said after a moment, "You are Shark. I've been told many things about you."

"Really?" Shark didn't understand how that could've happened. "So, you know my name, but I don't know yours."

"Ah, forgive me. My name is Kiilee. I am the only slave that had served Prince Vector until he decided he would like to have you at his side."

"I'm flattered," Shark said scornfully. Kiilee smiled a small, secretive smile.

"Let me untie you," she said, reaching for his bound hands. The rope had rubbed his wrists raw, and so he let her remove it before gently massaging them to try and ease the sting.

"Thanks."

"I couldn't leave you bound. It seemed to be very uncomfortable. Now, come with me and we will see about getting you a bath and some new clothes." She turned to go further into the castle, but when Shark tried to follow her, he cried out in pain and sank to his knees. Kiilee was beside him quickly. "What is it?"

"I fell off the horse hard onto my ankle. It still hurts."

"Oh, dear. Well, hold on to me and try to walk. A bath should help with that. I hope it doesn't swell up." And so, the two slaves made their way down the hall, Shark clutching Kiilee's arm and hobbling next to her while she leaned over to give him a better grip.

The walk was slow and painful, and with each step, Shark grew more and more uncertain. What did this Prince Vector want him for? Someone to put on a leash and show off to his friends? Someone to take out his frustration on? Just someone to dominate in general? Or was it all Domitian's plan to make him lose self-worth because he, the crown prince of the United Lands, was now reduced to the status of personal slave to the crown prince of the land whose ruler had conquered his?

As he soaked in the small tub (fortunately, when they got into the higher levels of the palace, the amount of light improved considerably) he wondered whether he should be resentful and rebellious or just go along for the ride. He remembered all the hell he had suffered as Domitian's personal slave and felt like making a run for it. But he knew that that was a crazy plan. He would have to just play nice.

 _For how long?_ A voice taunted him. _It's been almost two rains since you made that promise to Domitian. Are you just going to lie down and let him walk all over you for the rest of your life?_

 _Of course not!_

 _Then what are you going to do?_

 _I don't know. Something. Now just isn't the time, though._

 _Will it ever be the time?_ Shark didn't know anymore. It had been a long time since he'd felt so helpless. He climbed out of the bath and was repulsed, of not surprised, by the brownish color of the water. He dried himself off and wrapped the towel around himself, wondering what he was supposed to wear. Kiilee had taken his old rags away with her.

"I see you're finished." Shark jumped. He hadn't heard her come in.

"How can you tell?"

"I can see your feet under the curtain."

"Oh."

"I have some fresh clothes for you. The Prince picked them out himself. I hope they fit."

 _How nice of him._ Kiilee dropped the clothes of the curtain and then left (he had to listen hard to hear her footsteps), leaving him alone. He unfolded his new garments and examined them. They were made from fine linen, better quality cloth than he had worn in a long time. The shirt was white with purple lining and a sash to match. The pants were black and were designed to be pulled tight at the bottom, following Astranian style. After he slipped into them, Shark noticed that the pants only reached his shins. The mark of a slave. Only free men wore their pants to the ankle in Astrania.

Following other instructions that Kiilee had given him, Shark combed his hair and put lotion on his hands and face, to moisturize them. He had been familiar with such things, but he was surprised to find that he felt rather awkward with the comb and uncomfortable with the lotion. He had grown more used to tangled hair and dirt than he'd realized.

Kiilee came back as he was finishing. "Are you ready to go?"

 _As ready as I'll ever be._ "Yes."

She took him up some more stairs and down more long, stone corridors. "Remember, don't look the Prince in the eye unless he commands you to. Refer to him as master unless he instructs you otherwise. Don't argue with him, no matter the circumstances. Do you understand?"

"Yes." _I'm not new to this. I can handle it._

"Here we are," Kiilee said, approaching a set of double wooden doors. "Knock and wait for a response. Good luck." Then, like a ghost, Kiilee vanished from sight.

Shark took a deep breath and put a reign on himself. If he wanted to survive here, as he had as Domitian's slave, he would have to bury any resistance. Until the time was right. HE raised his hand and knocked.

"Who is it?" a muffled voice came from the other side of the door.

 _It is I, the Shark that is about to rip you to shreds._ "You're new slave, master." He felt like throwing up.

"Shark! Come on in." Was it just him, or did the muffled voice sound vaguely familiar? Shark pushed open one of the doors and stepped inside before letting it close again. He stood in the doorway, with his eyes on the floor. He didn't see the figure in the large bed in the middle of the room.

"It's good to see you again." He knew that voice. Forgetting all previous instruction, Shark's head snapped up.

"You!"

"Ray Shadows" grinned back at him. "Hi, Shark!"

" _You're_ Crown Prince Vector?"

"Surprise! Sorry I didn't tell you my real identity, but my Dad would have a fit if he found out I hung around the dungeons in servants' clothes."

Shark was furious. Never in his life had he felt so betrayed, not even when Heartland and Domitian had turned out to be traitors. "How dare you! You say all you want is a friend, but then you use your power to have me dragged here against my will, dressed up and polished, so you could add me to your collection of possessions!"

"Shark, you don't understand-"

"Oh, I understand perfectly! If you expected me to just fold to your will, you were mistaken. Do whatever you want to me. I don't care."

"I thought I was saving you!" Ray, or rather Vector, cried. It was only then that Shark noticed the tears in his eyes. _Crocodile tears,_ he thought scornfully. "I told you that I wanted to rescue you from slavery. When my Dad offered me anything in the Empire for my birthday, I thought… I thought being with me would be better than slaving away in the fields. I'm sorry Shark. Please don't be angry."

Shark tried to steel himself against the pitiful plea. It didn't work. Vector had explained his deception- his father would have been angry. Shark knew Domitian; it made sense. And Ray _had_ told him that he wanted to rescue him. "Alright. But we're going to have to have some ground rules. One, I'm not going to call you master, or act like your slave, unless we have an audience. Our relationship will be like it was in the dungeons."

"Okay," Vector said, wiping his hand across his eyes. "I don't want you to treat me like a master anyway. Just like a friend."

 _A friend._ "I already had friends, Vector. Now I've been taken from them and they don't know what's happening to me. How are they supposed to know that you meant well?"

Vector was quiet for a long moment. "I didn't think about that. I was being selfish. I only wanted a friend for myself. You see, I've never had a friend of my own, except for Kiilee. And she's a woman and much older than me. Father says that Emperors don't need friends. They have power."

"That's ridiculous."

"Yeah." Vector grabbed a handkerchief and sneezed several times. "Sorry. I've been sick for a while."

Shark never knew what compelled him to do what he did next. "Can I do anything to help?"

Vector brightened. "Yeah, actually there is. You see those books over there?" Vector pointed to the wall opposite from the door, which was entirely covered in bookshelves. There were even more books stacked in piles on the floor. When Shark nodded, Vector continued, "In one of the piles there are books that were taken from libraries in the United Lands." He didn't notice Shark stiffen. "They're all in your native language. I was wondering if you could read them to me, translating them as you go. You do know how to read, don't you?"

"Of course." Shark walked over to the piles and began going through them, looking for a good title. Finally, he came to a very familiar title from his childhood. He traced the intricate cover. This definitely came from the royal library. It might even be the copy that he and his sister had sat and read on rainy days.

"What do you have there?" Vector asked, straining to see.

"It's a popular children's story told all throughout the islands of my home. It's called _Aya Prinsess Arusada._ The Princess Bride."

"It sounds like a fairytale."

"Oh, it's much more." Shark flipped over the book and read from the back, translating into Astranian, much to Vector's surprise. "Revenge and True Love. Monsters and Miracles. Pirates and Princesses. Great Escapes. And maybe even Happily Ever After."

"Alright." Vector sat back on his pillows. "If you think it's good, go ahead and read it."

Shark sat down in a chair next to Vector's bedside, opened the book, and began to read. "The year that Buttercup was born, the most beautiful woman in the world was a French scullery maid named Annette. Annette worked in Paris for the Duke and Duchess de Guiche, and it did not escape the Duke's notice that someone extraordinary was polishing the pewter. The Duke's notice did not escape the notice of the Duchess either, who was not very beautiful and not very rich, but plenty smart. The Duchess set about studying Annette and shortly found her adversary's tragic flaw…"

 **Next time on** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves:**_ **Rio and Quattro take a trip to the beach.**

* * *

 **I do not own** _ **The Princess Bride.**_ **It is a fantastic book and plays an important role in future** **chapters of my own. I would definitely recommend it.**


	18. Vacation

"Your highness! Please slow down! Whoooooaaaaaaaa!" The footman who had been assigned to accompany Quattro and Rio on their wagon clung to the sides with a death grip. Rio, too, hung on tight, but she was filled with exhilaration rather than fear. Her hair was flying in the wind, her broad-brimmed hat hanging down her back by the strap that was supposed to go under her chin, and her face rosy and laughing.

Quattro was in the driver's seat, holding tight to the reigns as he guided the horses down the country path. Quattro had gotten this wagon especially for Rio, o she wouldn't have to ride in one of those "Suffocating boxes," he'd said. For this she was grateful, but not nearly as much as she was for his efforts to get permission for this trip. It had been over six months since their conversation about going, and since then, one thing after another had gotten in the way. It was too cold. There were holidays to celebrate. Christopher's going away party had to be held (he was going to Tsukamo to live with Kari's family until August). Eventually, however, King Byron had realized it was time for his two younger sons to have a vacation. Having Chris gone was harder on them than he had realized it would be. And of course, after months indoors doing chores, Rio was going stir crazy.

Quattro wasn't old enough to drive by himself, which was why the footman was along for the ride, but he had proved that he could handle horses quite well. The ride had been smooth through the city, but when they got out into the country, along the dirt roads to the beach, Quattro's wild nature needed to be released, and he'd urged the horses into a gallop. Rio was thrilled. The footman…not so much. Of course, King Byron, Trey, and Iris, were in a coach far behind them and couldn't see the radical ride.

Quattro rounded a bend, causing the wagon to tip wildly to the left. Both Rio and the footman screamed, but for different reasons. Now, the beach was in sight, and it wasn't long before Quattro had pulled the horses to an abrupt halt, nearly dislodging both his passengers. Rio was laughing hysterically, holding onto her stomach. Quattro grinned at her, glad to see her smiling again. She had been awfully glum these past few days when he had met her for their reading lessons.

"Quattro," Rio said when she could breathe again, That was the best ride I've ever had in my life!"

"I bet I can top it on the way back." This got through to the footman, who muttered about retiring early. "Now what?" Quattro asked. He'd never been to a beach before, and honestly he didn't know what to do next.

"Now we do this," Rio said, jumping down from the wagon. Quickly she pulled off her shoes and stockings, and then, with her skirts hiked up above her knees, she took off for the water.

"Rio!" Quattro was aghast. "You can't show your bare legs in public!"

"Why not?" She called over her shoulder, not even slowing her pace.

"Because it's unladylike!"

"Poo. I'm not an Arclightian lady; I'm a Barian savage!" She ran into the water, kicking and splashing as she did so.

"Wait!" Quattro scrambled down from the driver's seat and followed her, not stopping to think about the consequences of being seen, alone, with a girl brazenly showing her bare legs. He stopped at the edge of the water, watching as his companion reached down with her free hand and sent a stream of water flying into the air. He had never noticed how…pretty she was before.

"Come on in, Quattro!" she called to him, sending another spray into the air.

"I can't!"

"Why not? Are you too _scared?_ "

The boy's face heated up. "Of course not! It's just…"

"Just that your scared of what everyone will think of your behavior," she teased him.

"I am not!" Quattro shouted.

"Then prove it."

"Oh, I'll prove it, all right." He took off his boots and socks, before rolling up his pants to the knee and heading for the water. With only a second's hesitation, he plunged into the depths, wading through until he had reached his companion. "See?" He said triumphantly.

Rio laughed. "Welcome to the brave and daring, Prince Thomas."

"Don't call me that. It's so formal."

She made a face at him. "You're lucky you get to wear pants. You don't have tons of skirt to hold up." Quattro shrugged.

Before they could continue their conversation, they were interrupted by the arrival of their companions in their carriage. Thomas immediately tensed. What would his father think of this? The door opened and out hopped Iris, glowing with excitement.

"Rio!" She called, waving to her sister. Quickly she took off her own shoes and stockings and ran down to join them.

"Iris!" Rio called, both in greeting and in warning. But it was too late. Iris had plunged into the water, and her dress was soaked almost to the neck by the time she reached them. "Oh, Iris!" Rio frowned, forgetting for a moment to hold onto her own skirts. Soon, both sisters were soaking wet. Quattro clutched his stomach, laughing hysterically at the scene.

"You…should have seen…the look on your face!" he gasped. Annoyed, Rio tackled him and knocked him over, leaving all three of them with sopping wet clothing.

Trey, who had gotten out of the carriage after Iris, gaped at what he was seeing. His brother, bare-legged as a new born, had plunged into the wild ocean and was now lying underneath Rio Kastle. "What in the name of-" King Byron stood behind his youngest son, appalled. When he had agreed to this trip, he had never imagined it would result in such scandalous behavior.

"Thomas! Get out of that water immediately and put your clothes back on!

"Oh, come on, Dad," Quattro complained. "People in Rio's kingdom do this all the time. I'm just trying to appreciate their culture." Not only that, but Quattro was beginning to realize an important pattern. Barian women did not wear corsets or sunbonnets and they went horseback riding and swimming freely- and _they_ were the ones strong enough to bear twins. There was definitely something worth considering there.

"Come out of that water this instant!" King Byron said sternly. "This is not Rio's country, and you should have the dignity to put your swimming clothes on before diving in."

"Swimming clothes?" All four children were surprised to find that such provisions had been made. Soon, their wet clothes were spread out in the wagon and they were splashing in the water to their hearts' content. Iris and Trey stayed in the more shallow water, tossing rocks they found into deeper waves to see who could make the biggest splash. Quattro and Rio went further in, jumping waves and dunking each other with glee.

For lunch they had a picnic, and Quattro got back at Rio for dunking him so many times by spelling the things he wanted her to pass him in Arclightian. As Quattro had attempted to teach Rio to read Arclightian, he had discovered that she wasn't knowledgeable about the Heartlandish alphabet. When she had learned Heartlandish at home, she had written the words with Barian letters. The Barian alphabet had 33 letters, whereas the Heartlandish one had 26. However, they had figured out that the extra eight letters were the long vowels (a, e, i, o, and u) and ch, th, and sh. Of course, 33-26 doesn't equal eight, but the Barians didn't have a letter equivalent to c, which made up for the discrepancy.

Rio did not understand why an alphabet would need a letter that made the sound of two letters-k and s- already in it. And that was the least of her problems with it. How could the same vowel make two sounds, one "long" and one "short?" Who decided that sometimes, two letters put together could make a completely different sound? It was exasperating to begin with, and Quattro only made it worse by teasing her.

After lunch, though, she got him back by always managing to tag him when she was "it." Tag was a Barian game that Rio and Iris taught their friends that day.

At the end, as the sun sank beyond the horizon, Rio and Iris stood at the edge of the water, gazing off into the west, towards home, and thinking of happier times. "Nash is on the other side of this ocean," Iris said softly. Rio had been dismayed to find that Iris's actual memories of Nash were few and hazy.

"Yes," she agreed, squeezing her younger sister's hand. "And someday, we will see him again."

"Rio! Iris! It's time to go!" Trey called. The two sisters turned and ran back to the wagon and the carriage, shrieking with laughter as they raced across the sand to see who would make it first.

If they could have looked forward a year or two, they would not have been so merry.

 **The End**


	19. Preview of Part 3: Death

_Rio stared at her enemy in shock. "I was going to come back, really; I was! I just never got the chance."_

" _You never got the chance." The man rolled his eyes. "Believe that if you want. It's just a pity you didn't get your chance before it was too late."_

" _Too late? What do you mean?"_

" _Your brother was very amusing to torment- for a while. But then Emperor Domitian got tired of him. You should have heard your beloved twin's screams. No one survives one hundred lashes on the bare back, princess."_

" _No!" Rio cried. "No! You're lying!"_

" _Oh, but I'm not. I have proof." He reached into his coat pocket, torturously taking his time, and produced something small and shiny._

 _Rio could feel herself trembling. In the fiend's palm was a platinum ring, identical to her own. He dropped it into her shaking hand, and she sank to her knees, cradling all that was left of her beloved brother to her chest._

" _Crown Prince Nash truly loved you, his sister." The man sneered. "He died a horrible death for you. It's too bad you weren't willing to do the same for him."_

 **Oh no, say it isn't so! The only way to find out will be to read** _ **A Tale of Two Slaves: Part 3: Death.**_


End file.
